Priorities of the Heart
by Paige-chan
Summary: Inuyasha rescues Kagome again. However, something has happened...something that changes Kagome. How can Inuyasha help her get back to normal? Rated M for language and content. InuKag
1. Taken

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. The rights belong to Rumiko.

Summary: Inuyasha rescues Kagome again. However, something has happened-something that changes Kagome. How can Inuyasha help her get back to normal? InuKag

I'm warning you readers now-this story is very dark and angsty in the beginning chapters. If you don't like that sort of thing, turn back now. It will eventually turn into a much happier InuKag story, but no lemons. Just splashes of citrus.

I know this has probably been done before, but I'm going to try to make it as original as possible.

"…" is speaking

'…' is thinking

Prologue

Kagome opened the door to the Higurashi shrine a little apprehensively. She was late, and she knew it.

Mr. Katsuki, her math teacher, had kept her 15 minutes late to speak to her because of her absences. Since she had been absent during the last test, he wanted to make sure that she wouldn't have a recurrence of her 'nasty toe fungus' to make her absent for her make-up test that she was supposed to take in two days.

'Damn Jii-chan,' she thought. 'Why did he have to tell him it was toe fungus? I've told him at least a thousand times not to make up excuses for my absences. The least he could have done was make up a disease that wasn't so disgusting.'

She knew that Inuyasha would be waiting for her to come back to the Sengoku-Jidai. He would be more than willing to drag her back to look for more shards of that cursed jewel.

"Mama?" she called into the house. "Souta, Jii-chan? Where are you?"

The house was dark, so unlike it usually was. Surely her brother was home, at least. A light was on in the kitchen, so she went towards it.

She turned the corner, and found herself face to face with a sight she never expected to see in her home in the future.

Mrs. Higurashi, Souta, and Jii-chan lay on the floor, seemingly unhurt but unconscious.

Before she could even scream, a figure advanced upon her out of the shadows. It grabbed her by the shoulders, and dragged her, kicking and screaming, towards the direction of the well.

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Inuyasha paced back and forth impatiently in Kaede's hut, kicking at the ground in anger.

"Damn wench, she's late AGAIN. What in the hell could she be doing that's more important than looking for shards, anyway? She was supposed to be back three days ago!"

"You could always go and get Lady Kagome, you know." Miroku said as he strolled into the hut.

Inuyasha turned to glare at the lecherous monk. He wasn't aware that the monk was anywhere in the vicinity, nor did he notice the kitsune or demon slayer that were leaning against the door, eavesdropping.

"Oh, right. Inuyasha's scared that Lady Kagome will sit him, isn't he?" Miroku teased. He was trying what Lady Kagome had called 'reverse psy-chol-egy.' She claimed it had many successes in her time, and Miroku was going to try it on Sango if it worked on Inuyasha.

Inuyasha growled, and said, "Monk, I'll show you who's scared." He bowled over Miroku on his way out of the hut in the direction of the well.

Miroku chuckled. 'Inuyasha was as easy to see through as a chain link fence, as Lady Kagome would say.'

Inuyasha stopped about fifty feet in front of Kaede's hut.

He was beginning to have second thoughts about going to Kagome's time to retrieve her. What would he say to her once he got there? If he mentioned the shards, it would surely end in him getting sat by an angry Kagome. That wasn't an experience he wished to repeat, having endured it many times before.

The truth is, he missed Kagome. He liked it when she was around. He enjoyed arguing with her, except when it ended with him being sat. Even though he wouldn't ever admit it to the monk, he fought better when she was around. The thought of her getting hurt was enough to make his blood run cold, and his heart to skip a beat. He never felt this way when anyone else was injured, even himself.

Inuyasha inhaled deeply, catching a strange scent. "Kagome's blood? DAMN IT!" He bounded off in the direction of the scent, praying he wasn't too late.

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Inuyasha ran full speed towards the east, passing by villages, farmland, and desolate forests. Before long, he could detect the scent of the demon who had taken Kagome.

Naraku.

'If he's done anything to harm her, I'll fucking kill him on the spot.' Inuyasha fumed, over and over in his mind.

He also noted that the scent was faint, at least a couple of days old.

'How could I have missed this? I should've smelled her scent the moment she came through the well! Now she may be seriously hurt, and it's all my fault…'

He was so absorbed in his own thoughts that it took a couple of minutes before he realized that Kagome's scent had changed. He sniffed the air, trying to place the new scent that went along with her blood. Suddenly, it clicked.

Terror. Absolute terror. She was terrified. Inuyasha's heart dropped in his chest, and he sped forward in an adrenaline-induced sprint.

Before long, Inuyasha reached the edge of a village that had been recently burned to the ground. Smoke still billowed out of many of the rubbish piles. The thick scent of smoke still clung to the air, disguising any other scents that were within the village..

Inuyasha circled the village. Naraku's scent led east, away from the village. Kagome's scent, however, did not. It led into the village, but not out.

Fueled by panic, Inuyasha began to search frantically for his missing companion.

He tried to smell her blood, her lilac shampoo, anything that would lead him to Kagome. All he could smell was the smoke from the recently extinguished fires. The smoke was beginning to burn his eyes, and clog his nasal passages.

He had to find her fast, or he was going to pass out himself.

He skidded to a stop in front of what appeared to be the largest hut in the village. At least, that's what he suspected, since it was the largest rubble pile. That, however, is not what caught his eye.

What caught his eye was lying next to the pile of rubbish. A small pile of what looked like blankets had moved. Not a lot, but enough to catch the eye of the half-demon boy. Upon closer look, he realized that these blankets had not been in the village long-they weren't singed or burned or smoke damaged.

He immediately leapt into the air, landing gracefully next to the bundle. He pulled aside the first blanket like it was nothing. The next blanket, however, was wet with a sticky substance that had already started to dry in the humid air.

Inuyasha leaned forward, and inhaled. The scent was one he knew all too well, and made his stomach drop painfully in his abdominal cavity.

The blanket was wet with Kagome's blood.

"KAGOME!"

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Muhahahha! Evil cliffhanger! That's the reason this chapter is sooo short. This is the easiest break in my story, therefore it made the cut.

The next chapter should be uploaded in the next day or so, depending on whether I decide if I want to scrap the end of it.

Please review-I'll even take flames. Be forewarned, however, flames will be used to exterminate the moles that insist on eating my vegetable garden. Damn moles, it's not even their SEASON to be out. Why target my innocent vegetables? And where were these moles when I didn't want to eat kidney beans as a child? I coulda used one then.

It seems that they don't like any of my flowers or tomatoes-just my poor carrots and potatoes


	2. Found

Disclaimer: If you believe that I own Inuyasha, then I have some oceanfront property in St. Louis, MO that I'd be willing to sell you. Seriously, if you believe any of that, get some help. I don't own the cute, cuddly hanyou.

"…" is speaking

'…' is thinking

Chapter 1

"KAGOME!"

Inuyasha pulled her unmoving form from the pile of blankets. What he saw made his blood boil and a low, vertebrating growl came from deep in his chest.

She looked horrible. Her uniform top was in tatters, and her skirt was slit down the front. A particularly nasty-looking burn covered her lower chest and upper stomach. There was a gash in her left shoulder, running parallel to her arm all the way down her waist. Puncture marks dotted her neck, and her right arm appeared to be broken. Various bruises covered her body. Her face was virtually untouched, but he could see tear tracks running the length of her cheeks.

Upon second glance, Inuyasha realized that although she looked bad and the blanket contained some of her blood, none of the injuries were particularly life-threatening, since she had apparently already stopped bleeding and the wounds didn't look that deep to begin with.

A glint drew his eye, and he looked at her neck. The shards still hung there, untouched.

'Why would Naraku kidnap Kagome and not take the shards?'

He removed the top of his haori, and wrapped her still form in it. His eyes were watering, and he didn't know how much longer _he _could last in this smoke, let alone a human in Kagome's condition.

He took off at a brisk run, and soon he was clear of the village.

'I have to find someplace safe to lay her down, someplace safe and inconspicuous. A battle between me and some random demon is the last thing she needs now.'

He looked at his surroundings, and spotted a mountain range in the distance.

'Mountains usually mean caves. Caves mean shelter.'

He took off in the direction of the mountains, his form soon becoming nothing but an outline in the distance.

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The rain pattered against the limestone angrily. It clung to the leaves of the trees, drained down the bark to form puddles. It had been raining for awhile, and showed no sign of stopping soon.

Inuyasha sat across from Kagome, staring at her pale face while listening to the rain outside. He was worried.

The rain, however, was not what bothered Inuyasha. He had built a fire in the center of the cave, using the old fashioned method of two sticks and a bunch of dry leaves he had found in the back of the cave.

What bothered him was Kagome herself. He had already taken care of her injuries as best as he could, even fixing a makeshift splint out of a sturdy piece of wood and part of his undershirt. She had woken up sometime while he was attempting to light the fire, but when exactly he wasn't sure. He had known she was awake when he turned around and saw her staring straight ahead, but not really looking at anything.

It was like she didn't see him at all. She had closed him out.

'Maybe she's in shock or something like that.' Inuyasha really didn't have any idea what to do in that case, so he tried the first thing that came to his mind.

"Kagome? Can you hear me, wench?" He attempted to disguise his concern, but it didn't matter anyway. She didn't respond.

Inuyasha rose from his spot on the damp cave floor, and sat next to her. He tried again.

"Kagome? Can you hear me?" He put his hand gently on her shoulder, trying to get a reaction.

He got a reaction, all right. Just not the one he expected.

Kagome recoiled under his hand. She began to tremble violently, and the distinct smell of fear and salt hit his nose in an instant.

Inuyasha pulled his hand away like it had been burned. Kagome had never behaved like this before. She was never this afraid of him, even when he was transformed, which he obviously was not at the moment. The sight of her, trembling in fear and crying just because he had touched her, made his heart break.

He couldn't take it anymore, so he did the only thing he could think of to make her stop shaking.

He picked up her trembling body in one swift move and adjusted her in his lap.

Kagome stiffened immediately. She may not have been shaking anymore, but the scent of fear was thicker now, so thick it could almost be seen to Inuyasha's hanyou eyes.

"Kagome, it's me. It's Inuyasha." His voice cracked, and he couldn't help it. He had never felt this-this _helpless_ before.

Kagome relaxed slightly, but the scent of fear was still in the air.

Inuyasha began to growl, a low soothing tone that came from his chest. This seemed to work, to an extent. Her body relaxed, and the scent of fear was gone, to be replaced by…nothing. No emotion at all.

Inuyasha must have sat there for hours, just holding Kagome. She finally fell asleep just after the full moon was directly over the cave entrance.

Inuyasha lay her down next to the dying fire, and left the cave. He knew she would be safe-the rain covered her scent, and he didn't plan on being gone for too long.

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The wet leaves squished between Inuyasha's bare toes. All he could smell was mud. He sat on a tree stump some fifty feet away from the cave entrance, not comfortable with being out of hearing range of Kagome just yet. He used his claws to shred wet leaves in his fingers, just to keep his idle hands occupied. He knew as soon as the sun rose that they would have to head back to Kaede's village. Sango and Miroku might already be looking for them as it is.

That, however, wasn't the real reason he came out into the night. He needed to think.

He felt guilty. REALLY guilty. If he hadn't wasted time in going and getting Kagome, this may not have happened. She would be safe. She wouldn't be suffering like she was. She wouldn't be injured. She would be okay. Naraku wouldn't have gotten to her.

A thought popped into his mind, a thought he couldn't ignore.

'Why would Naraku be after Kagome and not the shards?' This and other similar thoughts ran continuously through his mind, as he tried to figure out some rational answer.

He didn't like the answers he came up with.

'One thing's for sure…I'm going to kill him for this.'

That decided, he threw aside the rest of the leaves, and walked towards the cave entrance. The closer he got, the more butterflies mysteriously appeared in his stomach. He had one question for Kagome, one that had been bugging him since he had found her.

He stopped at the entrance of the cave, gathering the courage to voice his concern. Kagome was awake, sitting up staring into the dying embers.

She glanced up at him, then back at the fire. Inuyasha finally got the courage to voice his concern for the first time.

"Kagome, can you hear me? Say something, damn it. What in the hell happened back there?"

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Another cliffhanger! I'm on a roll.

I know it seems a little angsty and horrible right now, but please don't flame me until I have a chance to explain myself. In order for Inuyasha and Kagome to become a couple, they have to get close. Unless something dramatic happens, any attempt at them getting close is going to seem OOC.

Thus, to become a couple something dramatic has to happen. I promise you, this will get better and it will turn into the kind of sappy romance most readers like.

I know a lot of you are thinking, 'What happened that was dramatic?' For that, you'll just have to wait until I update. I will tell you, though. It probably isn't what you're thinking.


	3. Return

Disclaimer: I still don't own Inuyasha. As much as I lie, cheat, steal, rob, try the whole 007-steal the little black box out from under the bad guy's nose and escape in a canoe-thing, I still will not own Inuyasha. And I never will.

"…" is speaking

'…' is thinking

Chapter 2

"Kagome, can you hear me? Say something, damn it. What the hell happened back there?"

Kagome turned her head upwards, but Inuyasha saw no glint of recognition inside her eyes. In fact, he saw no emotion at all.

'Could she be injured worse than I thought?' Inuyasha thought fearfully.

He slowly made his way to her side and sat down, careful not to frighten the girl like he had last time.

"Wench? Can you hear me?" His attempt to sound unconcerned sounded pathetic even to his own ears.

She nodded her head, albeit ever so slightly. Inuyasha took this as a good sign and continued.

"What happened, back there? What happened to you?"

Silence reigned. Inuyasha waited for her to say something, but she said nothing. He tried again.

"It's okay, you can tell me." Inuyasha said softly.

Kagome turned away from him, and wrapped her good arm around her knees. She rested her head on her forearm, and appeared to be deep in thought. She opened her mouth to say something, and abruptly closed it. Her body began to shake, and the horrible smell of salt hit Inuyasha's nose.

Inuyasha, for his part, couldn't stand it. He did the only comforting thing he could think of, the same thing that calmed her last time.

He pulled the sobbing miko into his lap, adjusting her in his lap until he was comfortable.

Kagome didn't stiffen this time. Instead, she clung to Inuyasha with a fistful of his undershirt in her small hand, sobbing. There was no scent of fear on her-just the scent of unyielding despair.

Inuyasha tried to soothe her with the low tone growling he had used last time, but it didn't work. It was like Kagome was unreachable to him. She continued to cry, low piercing wails that threatened to break Inuyasha's heart over and over again.

He tried everything his mother used to do for him when he was upset. He rocked slowly back and forth, running his claws through her hair slowly. This didn't work; she only flinched every time his claws touched her head.

When that didn't work, he tried talking to her, telling her over and over that she was safe and everything would be alright. This didn't work either. She was crying way too loudly for Inuyasha to hear himself, so he doubted that she could hear him.

He remembered his mother used to sing to him whenever he was particularly upset, but there was no way in hell he was going to sing. She wouldn't be able to hear him anyway, not to mention that he had hardly ever sang in his life.

So, with that being said, all he could do was attempt to soothe her until she finally cried herself to sleep a couple of hours after sunrise.

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Inuyasha stared listlessly at the bamboo side of Kaede's hut. He was bored, not to mention anxious as to what Kaede's diagnosis was.

He had brought Kagome back to the village a couple of hours ago, having left the cave a few hours after Kagome fell asleep. He didn't want to risk waking her, but the risk of leaving her wounds unattended was far greater. It didn't matter in the end anyway. She didn't wake up.

Now, she was in the other room with Kaede and Sango. They had taken Kagome immediately upon Inuyasha's arrival and demanded that he leave the room so they could examine her and clean her wounds.

A noise on the other side of the room interrupted Inuyasha's thought process. He turned, and glared at the monk that had come in through the door.

"How is she?" Miroku asked as he sat down next to the hanyou, completely oblivious to the glare he had gotten moments before.

"Feh." Inuyasha continued to glare.

"Seriously, Inuyasha. She's my friend too." Miroku stated.

Inuyasha relented. "She's alive, bouzo. At least she was when I left her with Kaede and Sango. Her injuries didn't appear to be life threatening." Inuyasha turned to stare at the wall again.

"If her injuries are not as bad as you say, then, pray tell, what is bothering you?" Miroku leaned forward, his sense of self-preservation apparently fleeing him momentarily.

"Feh. Nothing." Inuyasha ground out, not even bothering to look at the monk.

"Ah, I see. So you're grinding your teeth and clutching Tetsusaiga so tight your knuckles are turning white just because you want too? Dear Inuyasha, you are a bad liar." Miroku said matter-of-factly.

Inuyasha lunged at the monk, and almost had his claws around the priest's neck before he heard the bamboo door slide open.

"Inuyasha! Miroku! You two should know better than this, you're acting like spoiled children!" Sango chastised as she emerged.

Inuyasha was on his feet immediately.

"How is she?" he demanded.

"You may see her now. She's all cleaned up and resting. Don't wake the child." Kaede said as she shuffled out behind Sango.

Inuyasha was already inside by the time Kaede finished her statement.

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Sango sighed as she began to put the herbs away. She was worried.

Kagome had woken up one time, while she and Kaede were bandaging her shoulder wound. She opened her eyes, and blinked a couple of times. Sango didn't notice, but Kaede did.

"Child, are ye awake?" Kaede said in her usual gruff voice.

Kagome turned towards the sound, but her eyes were glazed, like she was far away. She began to tremble slightly, and Sango laid her hand on her shoulder.

"Kagome-chan, it's okay. It's just us. It's just me and Kaede."

At hearing Sango's voice, Kagome appeared to calm down, but her eyes still held that glazed-over appearance. Kaede continued to bandage the wound, appearing not to notice.

'If Kaede doesn't seem too concerned, maybe it's not that big of a deal.' Sango thought as she continued putting the herbs away.

'Or maybe, it really is.'

A familiar voice startled her. "Something wrong, Lady Sango?"

"No, Houshi-sama. I'm just worried about Kagome-chan."

Miroku sighed. "What troubles you?"

"It's the way, the way she looked at me and Kaede when she woke up. It was like she wasn't really there. Like her soul was gone. Her eyes were glazed over, no emotion at all. Like a doll." Sango sighed. "I wish I knew what exactly that means, I just can't put my finger on it."

"Maybe it was because of her painful injuries. Pain can cause a person's eyes to glaze over sometimes." Miroku said as he stood next to Sango, helping her put the rest of the herbs away.

"Yeah, you're probably right. Thanks, Houshi-sama." Sango said, smiling.

"Anytime, Lady Sango." Miroku said, looking directly into Sango's eyes. It was a beautiful moment.

SMACK!

"Hentai!" The moment was ruined.

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Inuyasha knelt next to Kagome's bedside, concern etched into his features.

Kagome was dressed in traditional miko robes, much like Kaede's. Her arm had been put in a much sturdier sling, and her other wounds bandaged. She appeared to be sleeping.

Inuyasha stared at her unmoving features. He dare not interrupt her slumber, for fear of invoking another episode like the earlier ones.

'What happened to her? What happened that made her so…afraid?' Inuyasha wondered. He reached forward and moved a stray hair behind her ear.

'If I had gone to get her when I first suspected something was wrong, this might not have happened. She wouldn't be injured. She would be perfectly fine. This is all my fault. I knew something was wrong when she was gone for so long. Exactly how long was she gone, anyway? She was gone for at least a couple of days, and it didn't appear that she was left in that desolate village for long, or else she would have died of smoke inhalation. That must mean…that the bastard had her for days! He didn't even care about the shards, he was just after her! What the fuck did he do to her?'

'Whatever it was, I will find out. I will make sure it never happens again.' Inuyasha promised himself, as he leaned up against the bamboo wall nearest to Kagome. 'I'm going to personally make sure that this NEVER happens again.'

'Naraku will pay for what he has done.'

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My longest chapter yet! YAY FOR ME!

And the part you've all been waiting for…review responses! (dun dun dun)

Terra34-I'm glad you like this fic. I updated as soon as I could! You'll just have to wait and see what happens to Naraku-I promise it's worth the wait! (wink)

Neckroz209-Here's the next chapter, as requested!

lightmaidenAya08-I updated! Are you excited?

Kitsune hanyou-I'm glad you thought it was a good cliffy. I do try.

Iaya R. White-I'm glad you think my fic is good. I keep hoping it is.


	4. Idea

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Absolutely nothing.

A/N: I've noticed in my writing I have a habit of adding and dropping the –sama's and –chan's randomly. Please excuse this, I'm going back through and fixing it. Be patient. I will be more consistent.

A/N II: I apologize for any OOCness in some of the minor characters in this chapter, such as Kaede and Kouga. It makes my story work better, but I promise that all the major characters are IC.

A/N III: This chapter is VERY short, but the next chapter will more than make up for it. We will find out what Naraku did in the next one, and it will move very quickly from there.

"…" is speaking

'…' is thinking

Chapter 3

It was raining hard in the Sengoku Jidai. It had been raining off and on for the past few days, and some villagers were worried that it might flood.

Inuyasha, however, was not worried about the rain. He sat in his favorite tree, the Goshinboku, letting the rain pelt him. He was worried about something closer to home-Kagome.

Kagome had not said anything since the encounter with Naraku. Not a word. In fact, she didn't eat, sleep, or move unless she was forced to by Sango or Kaede.

Inuyasha recalled the conversation he had had with Kaede earlier that day.

FLASHBACK

"Kaede-baba, can I talk to you for a minute?" Inuyasha asked gruffly as he entered the hut.

"What ails ye, Inuyasha?" Kaede asked with her back to the hanyou.

"It's Kagome. Wh—"

"Inuyasha, there is nothing physically wrong with Kagome-chan. She has experienced something very…traumatic. It's not unheard of for someone who's experienced something tragic to close themselves off to the outside world. I believe that this is what Kagome-chan has done. She's trying to get away from whatever is bothering her, and she's doing it by shutting herself away in her mind. She reminds me of someone who is mute."

Kaede turned to face Inuyasha, weariness written all over her mature features.

"I have tried everything I know to coax her to speak, to listen. Everything I have tried has failed. Either she will get better, or she won't. Only time will tell."

Kaede shuffled out of the hut, leaving a dumbfounded hanyou in her wake.

END FLASHBACK

A strong gust of wind shook the branch beneath Inuyasha. He was too immersed in his thoughts to notice. His mind ran through all the what-ifs over and over again.

'What if Naraku comes for Kagome again?'

'What if Kouga comes to see her and sees her like this?'

'What if a demon attacks her and she doesn't call for me?'

'What if Kagome never gets better?'

The last one made Inuyasha's heart drop painfully. He wouldn't let that happen. He COULDN'T let that happen.

The rain was beginning to let down. Inuyasha leapt out of the tree and took off towards the village, wanting to make it before the rain started up again.

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Kagome sat in the corner of Kaede's hut, staring listlessly into space. Shippo was next to her, having rarely left her side since that fateful day when Inuyasha brought her back to Kaede.

Although the kitsune cub showed no outward signs, he was extremely worried about his surrogate mother. She had never been silent for this long, no matter how scared or angry she was at Inuyasha no baka.

Shippo jumped in alarm as Inuyasha came crashing in. He stood at the door and shook the water from his body; much like a dog shakes the water from its coat.

That being done, he made his way over to Kagome, knocking Shippo out of his way. He had a plan to try and bring Kagome back.

It was a long shot, but he was going to try it anyway. He was going to try and piss her off enough to 'sit' him.

Throughout the day, he tried everything he could think of.

First he tried picking on the runt. He batted that poor kitsune from one end of the hut to the other. Usually this kind of behavior would earn the unsuspecting hanyou several consecutive sits, but not this time. Kagome just stared.

Next, he tried going through her yellow bag she had left before she went to her time a few weeks ago. That didn't work either, but he did find some old potato chips and gave them to Shippo to stop his crying.

It was well into the night when he realized that pissing her off wasn't going to work. He _had_ to try something else. He couldn't just let her remain like that for the rest of her life.

Then it hit him. Maybe, if he took her home it might help her. It was crazy, but maybe Mrs. Higurashi was the only one who could bring Kagome out of this.

'As soon as possible, I'm going to take Kagome home. Please, kami-sama, let this work.'

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It's another cliffhanger. I'll update soon.


	5. Truth

Disclaimer: Maybe…just maybe….nope. Still don't own Inuyasha.

A/N: Thanks so much to dsm1980, and her fic, _A Few Notes for Writers_. I have since corrected my ignorant inconsistencies.

A/N II: This chapter contains adult themes and situations. If you do not feel comfortable, then don't read it. This is one time where the rating M does fit.

Chapter 4

As soon as the sun rose in Feudal Japan, Inuyasha began preparations to take Kagome home. He grabbed her yellow backpack, stuffing as many of her possessions as he could find inside the monstrosity as the miko slept soundly in the corner.

It was during this time that he was unfortunately discovered by Kaede.

"What are ye doing, Inuyasha?" The elder miko asked as she stepped over the threshold.

"I'm taking her back to her time, Kaede-baba. They may have something that can help." Inuyasha mumbled as he picked up one of Kagome's futuristic soaps she called 'cham-ploo'.

"Inuyasha, ye usually hate it when Kagome-chan goes back to her time. Why the sudden change in attitude?" Kaede stared at the hanyou, curiosity visible in her features.

"Feh." Inuyasha merely ground out, looking disgruntled. "I'm going with the wench."

A few minutes later, Kaede spoke up again.

"Inuyasha, maybe it isn't such a good idea for Kagome-chan's mother to see her in this state."

"Feh." Inuyasha looked at the sleeping miko. "What other choice do we have?"

"Inuyasha, it will not hurt if she stays here for a few days to at least let her wounds get marginally better. In fact, it might help her, to be around her friends that deeply care for her." Kaede shuffled out of the hut without another word.

"Feh. What does she know? She's probably going senile in her old age…hag's got to be at least a hundred years old, with the way she lurches around." Inuyasha grumbled as he made his way over to the still sleeping miko.

He sat down a couple of feet away from Kagome's bedside.

"Wench, wake up. We're going back to your time."

Kagome's eyelashes fluttered, but she didn't open her eyes. She buried her face in her blanket, as if trying to block out Inuyasha's voice.

'Feh…lazy wench.' Inuyasha couldn't help the grin that came over his features. Kagome used to do this before the encounter with Naraku, when she wanted to sleep in.

Of course, she would usually sit him when she finally woke up too.

His hand was halfway to her shoulder when he heard her speak for the first time since he had rescued her.

"No…no…don't….please…"

Inuyasha's thoughts began to jumble together.

'She must be having a nightmare. Don't what? What is she talking about? Why has it taken her this long to speak at all?'

"Please, don't…don't hurt me anymore…"

It was at this point that Kagome awoke, her eyes landing on Inuyasha.

"What were you dreaming about?" Inuyasha asked as he laid his hand on her shoulder, uncharacteristically soft and sensitive. It didn't take an idiot to see that he was concerned. After all, she hadn't spoken for days, and when she finally did, it wasn't to anyone he could see.

Kagome recoiled from his outstretched hand, trembling.

"Please…don't hurt me." She said, trying to put as much distance between her and her hanyou protector.

'What? She thinks that _I'm_ going to hurt her?'

The thought of hurting Kagome made Inuyasha physically sick to his stomach.

He immediately removed his hand, and Kagome began to cry. Not just crying either; gut-wrenching sobs that shook her small body.

Kaede and Sango rushed into the room, having heard Kagome's sobs.

"What happened here?" Kaede demanded as she and Sango set out to comfort the hysterical miko.

"She…had a nightmare." Inuyasha said. He was mortified. Kagome was actually afraid of him.

When Sango turned around minutes later, the hanyou was gone.

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Inuyasha ran. He had to get away.

He couldn't stand the fact that Kagome, the girl he had protected from demons and humans alike, was actually afraid of _him_. He had seen the look in her eyes when she came out of her nightmare. It was the look a frightened rabbit gets when it knows that it is going to die and there is nothing that can be done about it.

He had known she was afraid just after he had rescued her. He had just assumed that she was confused because of the pain, thinking that he was Naraku or another random demon that meant to do her harm.

But she knew now, that she was no longer in Naraku's grasp. Yet, she was still afraid of _him_.

Every time he thought about it his heart shattered into a million pieces.

He was her protector, for kami's sake. She wasn't supposed to be _afraid_ of him.

He stopped after awhile of running, unwilling to go out of scent range of Kagome. He absolutely would not leave her unprotected.

He jumped up into the nearest tree. He climbed as high as he could, and made himself comfortable, fully intent on dwelling on his thoughts for awhile.

Hours went by, uneventful. He must have dosed off, because it was dark when he jerked awake, a familiar scent reaching his sensitive nose.

'Naraku, you bastard. I'm going to fucking kill you."

He leapt in the direction of the scent. It was close, and it didn't take long before Inuyasha reached the clearing where Naraku stood with Kanna.

"Kukukuku, Inuyasha. I figured you would come. Such a pleas-"

"PREPARE TO DIE, BASTARD!" Inuyasha screamed, unsheathing Tetsusaiga. It immediately transformed.

"Oh no, Inuyasha. Don't you want to know why your precious miko isn't quite…_herself_ lately?"

This stopped Inuyasha dead in his tracks.

"What did you do to her, you bastard!"

Kanna stepped forward, ignoring Inuyasha's deadly growls. An image slowly began to appear in the mirror…

IN THE MIRROR

A figure emerged from the Bone-Eater's well. Clad only in black, it carried an unconscious Kagome. Upon closer inspection, Inuyasha could tell it was Naraku himself instead of one of his incarnations.

It ran through the trees, with Kagome in its arms.

He watched, helplessly, as Naraku carried Kagome into his castle that he moves around at will. She was tossed, still unconscious, into the dungeon.

The next images were jumbled. They flashed over the mirror like snapshots, lasting no more than a few seconds…

Kagome defiantly standing up to Naraku when she awoke…

Kagome slapping Naraku when he got too close…

Naraku, snarling in anger, as he threw the young schoolgirl to the floor…

Naraku, using his claws to try and strangle her…

Naraku, as he spent the next few days trying to break her…

Naraku, twisting her arm around behind her until it broke, tears glistening in Kagome's eyes as she yelled for Inuyasha to rescue her…

Finally, the last image flashed into the mirror. It made Inuyasha sick to his stomach. He turned away, unable to watch.

It was Kagome, screaming, as Naraku lay on top of her. It didn't take a genius to figure out what he was doing.

"You see, Inuyasha, I finally broke your miko. She's useless."

Anger began to replace the nausea, until his vision began to seep red and he was breathing heavily. The heat of his anger threatened to burn right through his skin. He could feel the Tetsusaiga pulsing, the only thing that kept him from turning full demon in his rage against the bastard that had hurt Kagome.

Inuyasha lashed out viciously, swinging Tetsusaiga.

"WIND SCAR!"

It was too late. Naraku and Kanna were already gone.

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Kaede and Sango sat outside the small hut, deep in thought. They had just left Kagome back in the hut. It took at least an hour to get the hysterical miko to calm down.

"Kaede-chan?" Sango suddenly asked.

"Yes, child?" Kaede turned her wrinkled face to look Sango directly in the eye.

"What could have caused Kagome-chan to be so afraid of Inuyasha? Surely she knows the difference between Inuyasha and Naraku."

"Ahh…I believe I may have an answer for that. You see, Kagome-chan was deep in a nightmare, and Inuyasha woke her from it. Have you ever had a dream that seemed so real that you were not sure it was just a dream when you first woke up?"

"Yes, but still…Inuyasha is not Naraku." Sango said, disbelieving.

"Aye, but Kagome's sense of reality has been a little distorted these past days. I think she honestly thought that Inuyasha was Naraku.

Sango nodded. "I see."

Sango thought for a moment, and then left Kaede by herself. She had some thinking to do, and she preferred to be alone for it.

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Shippo sat on the edge of Kagome's bed, afraid to touch her but wanting to comfort his surrogate mother in any way he could.

Kaede and Sango had managed to get the young miko to calm down, but she didn't say another word. She simply sat on her futon, next to Shippo, and stared at the dirt floor, tears occasionally seeping from her blank eyes.

Darkness fell outside. Shippo finally got enough courage to reach out to Kagome.

"K-Kagome?"

Kagome turned her head, acknowledging Shippo's voice, but still did not say anything.

He reached out his little hand, and patted her arm. She flinched, and moved away from Shippo.

Shippo hung his head low, defeated.

After a few minutes, Sango came in the room.

"Shippo, you had better get to bed."

"B-but it's early!" The little kitsune pouted, obviously wanting to stay with Kagome.

"Shippo, I want to talk to Kagome-chan alone."

"FINE!" He stomped off towards the door, then turned and looked at Kagome, who thus far had ignored their conversation altogether. "I won't be far, just in the next room."

As the shoji slid shut, Sango turned to Kagome.

"Kagome-chan, can you hear me?"

Kagome looked up, but did not answer.

"Kagome-chan, you're really starting to worry me. What happened? Why are you so withdrawn?"

Kagome just continued to stare.

Suddenly, the shoji collapsed inward and collapsed on the ground, startling both girls. The sight that greeted them was one that neither expected.

Inuyasha stood in the doorway, looking all the worse for wear. His face was red, his eyes bloodshot. His fire-rat gi was torn, and numerous leaves and twigs stuck out of his hair and clothes.

He glared at Sango, and she understood. She left the room without as much as a sound.

Inuyasha turned his attention to Kagome, who still had not moved. He immediately moved to her, wrapping his arms around her like a blanket. She stiffened, but Inuyasha could not smell fear radiating from her.

He adjusted her in his lap, and laid his chin on the top of her head.

"Why…why didn't you tell me what he did to you? I would've understood…"

Kagome pulled away and looked Inuyasha straight in the eye. This close, he could see the tears forming before he smelled the salt.

"I promise you…he'll never touch you again. I'll keep you safe."

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After this chapter, I don't blame anyone for flaming me. I deserve it.

It will get better-I promise! It's not going to stay angsty forever, you know.


	6. Kouga

Disclaimer: What makes a good disclaimer? Is it how creative it is, how insightful it is, or how discouraging it is? Who knows? All I know is that I don't own Inuyasha.

A/N: I'm sorry to say that updates may take a little longer now. Don't blame me; blame the university and their intentions of stealing away every scrap of my free time. I do plan on finishing this story, just be patient.

Chapter 5

Days went by after Inuyasha's encounter with Naraku. Kagome's body continued to get better each day.

It appeared that the only lasting scar would be emotional, not physical.

Inuyasha was practically inseparable from Kagome. Kagome spoke more often, but only during nightmares.

She would lie on her futon and toss and turn, giving voice to what haunted her in her sleep.

"No, no…just leave me alone…Inuyasha will come for me…don't hurt me anymore…"

Inuyasha made sure that she was fully awake before he approached her, not wanting to scare her like he had previously.

She looked so…lost. So…broken. It made Inuyasha want to rip something apart.

"Kagome, are you alright?" Inuyasha gently asked, worried.

Kagome looked up at Inuyasha, tears in her eyes.

"I-I-I…" Kagome drew in a deep breath, trying to gain her composure. Her voice was raspy from not being used. "I…"

That was all she could get out before she broke down into sobs. Inuyasha sat down on the futon next to her and gently took her into his lap. She didn't flinch, and he took this as a good sign.

"Maybe you should go home, you would be safer there." Inuyasha spoke only when Kagome's breathing had slowed and she was no longer sobbing hysterically.

Kagome pulled back abruptly and looked at Inuyasha. Was he really sending her away, just like she had feared?

"Y-you want me to leave?" No, it couldn't be possible. He said he wouldn't leave her. He couldn't reject her.

"You'll be safer…away—"

Kagome cut him off with a wave of her hand. "No…I think I understand." She stood shakily.

"No…I didn't mean—WENCH, COME BACK HERE!"

Kagome had already bolted from the hut.

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Kagome ran as far and as fast as her injured body would carry her. She knew that the inuhanyou would be following her, but she didn't care at the moment.

All she knew is that she had to get away.

'Why would he send me away? Is it because I'm a burden?'

'You're always the damsel in distress in their little group,' spoke up a nasty voice inside her head.

'No…I'm not,'

'Inuyasha has to rescue you all the time. He had to rescue you from Koga, Sesshoumaru, and now Naraku. Face it, you're useless. You can't do anything right,'

'But…'

'If it weren't for the shards they would have sent you home a long time ago. You're just a shard detector for them.'

She was so preoccupied in her own thoughts that she wasn't watching where she was running. She tumbled over a fallen branch, landing wrong on her broken arm. Pain shot all the way up her shoulder, and she bit back a scream.

She tried to stand again, but collapsed at the base of the tree where the fallen branch had probably came from. She curled up into a ball, tears streaming down her pale face.

'Maybe…I am useless.'

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Inuyasha bounded through the trees, above Kagome. He didn't want to startle her by jumping down in front of her, so he tracked her quietly, waiting for her to stop her fleeing.

'Wench, what is wrong with you? I was only trying to help, and now you're running away from me. Why would you run in the first place? Home is where you should feel the safest; there isn't any Naraku in the future, you have nothing to be afraid of.'

He looked down, startled to see that Kagome was nowhere in sight. Alarmed, he backtracked, retracing his steps until he found Kagome curled at the base of a large tree, crying.

He approached her carefully, not wanting to have to chase her down again if she decided to flee.

'Kagome, why are you crying?" Inuyasha knelt in front of her, and reached down to wipe the tears from her face.

She flinched, drawing further back into herself.

"Because…I'm not any good to you guys. You-you're always having to rescue me, and I can't even stop Naraku…" her voice trailed off.

Inuyasha listened, growing more and more angry at Kagome's words.

"You ARE good to us! We need you! How do you think we'd get the shards without you, wench?" Inuyasha said, no louder than usual but beyond angry.

"I'm just as useless as he said I was…" Kagome's voice cracked painfully, and she buried her face in her hands.

"Don't you listen to a FUCKING WORD HE SAID—" Inuyasha quickly bit off the rest of his reply when Kagome cringed and began to cry again.

Clearly, anger wasn't going to solve anything. He tried another approach.

He backed away, and spoke much softer. "I just meant that maybe you should go home, where you would be safe. You could get better there, without having to worry about what-what happened. If it'll make you feel better…I'll even come with you."

"You don't understand…I was home when he…he…" Kagome began to cry harder, her small body shaking with each powerful sob.

Inuyasha silently cursed himself. 'Naraku knows how to get through the well now…she's not safe anywhere. Damn you, Naraku…'

He silently approached her, and pulled the sobbing girl into his arms. At least she was talking to him now. That was a step in the right direction.

Kagome suddenly stiffened.

Inuyasha inhaled, catching the intense scent of fear and another he recognized. He cursed silently, twelve letter explicatives that could peel the paint off the wall.

'Damn it, Kouga is the last thing I fucking need.'

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As always, review. I enjoy the feedback.


	7. Fears

Disclaimer: Meh. I own nothing. I don't own Inuyasha.

Chapter 6

'Damn it, Kouga is the last thing I fucking need.'

Inuyasha barely had time to try and calm the fearful Kagome before Kouga showed up, whirlwind and all.

Kouga stopped a short distance from Inuyasha and Kagome, his hands on his hips. His eyes shone with pride, and his black ponytail swayed in the breeze.

Kouga inhaled deeply, taking in the faint scent of Inukorro and Kagome. Wait, was that fear on Kagome's scent? What had happened to his woman to make her fear her own mate?

His brow furrowed in anger and confusion, and he bellowed, "Inukorro, what the fuck did you do to my woman!"

Inuyasha bristled at the implication that he was the reason Kagome was acting the way she was.

"I did nothing, you mangy wolf!"

A whimper from Kagome stopped both males in their tracks. Inuyasha looked down to the trembling figure in his arms. She reeked of salt and fear, and she was shaking violently, trying to bury her face in Inuyasha's fire rat gi. Inuyasha clutched her closer, whispering soothing words to the hysterical miko.

Kouga was next to them in an instant, reaching his hand towards Kagome's.

"No! Don't--" Inuyasha started, but it was too late.

As soon as Kouga's hand touched Kagome's, her body went rigid. The smell of fear intensified, so intense that it could practically be seen by the inuhanyou and wolf youkai. Inuyasha could feel her heart fluttering against his chest, and her breathing increased dangerously.

Kouga pulled his hand back like it had been burned. His anger at Inuyasha melted at the sight of his woman in such obvious distress.

'Why would she be acting this way?'

Then, it clicked. Since he was closer, he could smell Kagome's scent much better, and his sense of smell was much better than Inuyasha's since he was full youkai. Below all the fear, all the salt, was the faint scent of Naraku. All over her.

'There's only one way a person's scent can get that ingrained into…" Kouga didn't finish that thought. A pang of helplessness stabbed at his heart, to be immediately replaced by white-hot anger.

"How could you let this happen?" Kouga growled dangerously.

Inuyasha looked at the growling wolf youkai, who had voiced the very thought that had been going through his mind since the day he found Kagome.

'He's right…I did let this happen. I should've smelled her as soon as she came through that damn well…'

Inuyasha was abruptly jerked out of his train of thought by Kouga.

"Something's wrong Inukorro! She's breathing too fast!"

Inuyasha frantically glanced down at his companion. Her breathing was way too fast, and her eyes were glazed over. She appeared to be close to fainting.

Inuyasha quickly stood, intending to go to Kaede's village. His path was immediately blocked by a furious Kouga.

"Where are you taking her?" He demanded, glaring daggers at Inuyasha.

"I'm taking her to the village, as if it were any of your business, you wimpy wolf!"

Inuyasha took off in the direction in which he and Kagome had came, followed by a more-than-angry Kouga.

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Kaede stepped out of the hut some time later, only to be pounced upon by a very insistent hanyou and wolf youkai.

"What's wrong with her?" Kouga asked the older miko.

"What's wrong with the wench?" Inuyasha tried to hide his concern, but failing miserably.

"Don't call my woman a wench, Inukorro!"

"She's not your woman, you sniveling—"

"That's enough, from the both of ye." Kaede said, exasperated. She wasn't in the mood for either of them.

"Kagome-chan was overstressed, and that caused her symptoms. She is sleeping now. I suggest that neither of you wake her." Kaede strode back into the hut without another word.

Kouga immediately turned on Inuyasha.

"This is all your fault, Inukorro, and I intend to make you pay for it." He growled dangerously to accent his point.

Inuyasha returned the glare, his hand flying to the Tetsusaiga.

"I'd like to see you try."

"Stop it, the both of you!"

Both men turned, looking for the source of the sound.

A very angry-looking taijya stomped up to the two men, her anger clearly showing through her delicate features.

"You should be ashamed of yourselves. Kagome-chan is obviously going through a very hard time, and all you can do is fight amongst yourselves! I don't know how she puts up with either of you! Grow up and put your differences aside, if not for yourselves then for her sake!"

That being said, the very angry taijya stormed off, leaving two shame-faced youkai in her wake.

Kouga was the first to speak up.

"The human woman is right. We should agree not to fight for her sake." Kouga looked as if the very aspect made him sick.

Inuyasha grunted. He wasn't all that excited about a truce, but if it was for Kagome's sake, he would do it.

"Fine." Inuyasha ground out. He still didn't have to like it.

"That doesn't mean I have to be nice to you," Kouga continued. "I still—"

"How is Lady Kagome?" Miroku interrupted, seemingly unaware of the tension.

"Ask the wench yourself," Inuyasha ground out, still glaring at the wolf youkai.

"That would be much simpler if she were conscious," Miroku said matter-of-factly. "Since she is not, I figured that it would be better to ask you."

"She's sleeping right now." Kouga said. He wanted the meddlesome monk to leave so he could continue the verbal assault on the worthless hanyou who got his woman hurt.

"I know that, that's why I said she was unconscious." The monk pretended not to notice the glare he received from the wolf youkai as he stood up.

"Since you guys are so helpful, I think I'll just go and ask Lady Kaede."

He left, leaving the two men to glare at each other for the rest of the long night.

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Short chapter, I know. The next chapter will include more action, and will be much longer.

As always, R&R.


	8. Home

Disclaimer: I own nothing. Zilch, nada, nada.

Chapter 7

Kagome awoke to the distinct sounds of the village hustle and bustle. Adults were working, children were playing, and the leaves were glistening in the morning sun.

Kagome sat up, pushing the blankets towards the end of her futon. She rubbed her head, trying to rid herself of the pounding headache. Her temples were throbbing, and she could feel the migraine building behind her eyes.

'Great…this is the last thing I need. Why does my head hurt so much?'

The memories of the night before came flooding back to her in a flash. A single tear slid down her cheek unnoticed as she hugged her knees awkwardly to her chest.

'I feel like such a coward. I can't even be Kouga without freaking out, and he's my friend. What's wrong with me? Why can't I just seem to get over it? I feel like such a…hindrance.'

A crash in the other room alerted Kagome to the presence of another. A few seconds later, Kaede bustled into the room, arms laden in medicinal herbs. She strode to the other side of the room, and was almost done putting away herbs before the older miko noticed that Kagome was awake.

"Good morning, child. How do you feel?"

"N-not so good." Kagome averted her gaze from the curious older miko.

"Anything you would like to talk about, my child?" Kaede lurched her way over to Kagome's futon and sat down. She put a reassuring arm around Kagome's shoulder, a gesture that the younger miko appreciated.

"I-I just can't seem to…to put it out of my mind." Kagome spoke softly, looking at her bare feet. Kaede waited a couple of seconds, and spoke up when it became apparent that Kagome didn't intend to elaborate.

"Child, do you expect to be able to get over it overnight? It is like any other wound, it will take time."

"B-but I can't just…just put my life on hold because of this…childish fear." Kagome shivered involuntarily.

"But you also can't just expect to get over it overnight, either. Your friends are here to help you. They deeply care for you; they would listen to you. Especially Inuyasha."

"Inuyasha?" Kagome looked surprised.

"He cares for you more than you know, Kagome. He worries about you."

"That's just it. If I weren't such a…coward, he wouldn't have to worry about me."

Kaede sighed. "Kagome, you're not a coward. You're one of the strongest I have ever known. You're not a coward. You can do this. You'll make it through this."

Kagome smiled, the first real one in days. "Thanks, Kaede-chan. I really needed that."

Kaede stood up, stretching the kinks from her back. "Anytime, young Kagome-chan."

Kaede exited the room a few minutes later, mumbling something about nuisance village boys and their loud habits.

'Kaede's right. I can do this.' Kagome felt much better. She felt better than she had in days.

Kagome got up and left the hut, intent on finding a particular hanyou.

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The particular hanyou in question was sitting up in the Goshinboku, deep in thought.

'I told that fucking wolf not to touch her. If he hadn't touched her, she wouldn't have reacted that way. Damn motherfucking wolf, if only the wench would have let me get rid of him the first chance I had, then this wouldn't have happened.'

'You know that's not true,' a small voice in his head popped up. 'If you had only smelled her the moment she came through that well, none of this would have happened. If only you had full demon senses, this never would have happened. Kouga never would have let this happen…'

Inuyasha's thoughts were immediately cut off when a familiar scent reached his nose.

'Kuso, what is she doing out here?'

"Inuyasha? I know you're up there. Come down, I want to talk to you." Kagome shifted her feet uncomfortably. She had to get this off of her chest.

Inuyasha grumbled, a noise that sounded eerily like "Feh."

"Inuyasha," Kagome said warningly.

The tone in Kagome's voice caused Inuyasha's head to snap up painfully.

'She hasn't used that tone of voice since…' He didn't finish that thought. He immediately jumped down, landing in front of Kagome gracefully.

Kagome flinched, but didn't back down.

"I-I wanted to thank you. For saving me. For saving me from—"

"Feh." Inuyasha interrupted.

Kagome began to get angry. "No, I want to thank you. I really—"

"You have nothing to thank me for." Inuyasha yelled angrily. "I didn't save you. If I had saved you, he never—" Inuyasha couldn't even finish the sentence.

He settled for an angry "Feh."

Kagome came closer, and reached her hand up. She touched the side of Inuyasha's face gingerly.

"You did, Inuyasha. Without you, I would be lost. You have no idea." Kagome removed her hand from the side of Inuyasha's face and wrapped her arms around Inuyasha in a deep embrace.

Inuyasha was speechless. This certainly was the last thing he expected her to do. He expected her to be afraid, to hit him, run from him, anything. It was all his fault, she wasn't supposed to be _hugging_ him.

She pulled away after a few moments.

"Tonight's your night, isn't it?" Kagome tilted her head questioningly.

Inuyasha grumbled inwardly. He had forgotten all about it.

"Yeah."

"Could we go…" Her voice hitched at this point, and she appeared to gather her courage for her next question. "Could we go shard hunting tomorrow?"

"W-what? No! You-you're still injured! You're not going anywhere."

Kagome could feel a bubble of anger, put pushed it back down. She had to do this. She _had_ to.

"I'm fine."

"You can't shoot a bow like that!" Inuyasha angrily gestured to her broken arm.

"I don't need to shoot a bow to sense the jewel shards." This time Kagome couldn't keep the anger out of her voice.

"You need to shoot a bow to defend yourself." Inuyasha's voice mirrored Kagome's anger.

"That's what this is about, isn't it? I can't defend myself, so I'm useless?" Kagome's anger was quickly replaced by something else, something that Inuyasha couldn't guess at.

"No—"

"That's what this is about, though, isn't it? You think I can't defend myself anymore…" Her voice trailed off, and the smell of salt hit Inuyasha's nose in an instant. His heart dropped, and he mentally cursed himself.

He reached out and pulled her into a deep embrace.

"That's not what I meant at all…I'd just feel better if you could shoot your bow. I'd know you wouldn't _be _defenseless." Inuyasha rested his chin on the top of her hairline.

Kagome smiled inwardly. 'He's so cute when he acts this way…he reminds me of Souta.'

Suddenly, the image of her mom, Souta, and Jii-chan lying unconscious on the floor of her kitchen flooded her mind. She wrenched away from Inuyasha, a look of fear on her face.

"What's wrong?" Inuyasha demanded, searching her face.

"My family…Naraku…" That was all he could get out of her before she broke down into sobs.

"What?" Realization dawned on him and he growled dangerously. "Did he—kill them?"

Kagome looked up uncertainly. "I-I don't know. We have to go check on them!"

"You're not going anywhere without me, wench. I'll take you back."

Inuyasha bent down and picked the hysterical miko up bridal style, and strode carefully towards the well. He jumped in, feeling the familiar blue light engulf the both of them.

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Inuyasha leapt from the well. He kicked the wellhouse door down, causing it to fly off of his hinges.

"Do-do you smell them?" A little voice piped up from his arms.

Inuyasha inhaled deeply.

"I smell your mom and Jii-chan, but not Souta."

Kagome immediately began to squirm.

"We have to go check on them!" She demanded, still squirming from her position in Inuyasha's arms.

"Don't worry." Inuyasha set her down, but held her shoulders firmly. "I want you to stay here, and run at any sign of trouble, okay?"

Kagome nodded, tears spilling over the lids of her eyes. She watched as Inuyasha climbed the tree outside her window, leaping inside like a cat.

'How ironic,' Kagome thought in spite of herself. 'A dog demon with the grace of a cat.'

A minute turned into two, two into five. Just when Kagome was about to bolt back into the wellhouse, the front door wrenched open, startling Kagome.

She whirled around, relieved to find a very hysterical Mrs. Higurashi rushing towards her.

Mrs. Higurashi embraced her daughter, almost knocking her to the ground with the mere force of it. Tears were streaming down her face.

"We were so afraid…afraid that we had lost you." Mrs. Higurashi managed to say through the tears.

"I'm here, Mama. Don't worry. I'm here now." Kagome glanced behind her mother, noticing Inuyasha standing on the porch. He shrugged his shoulders, as if to say 'Women.'

Mrs. Higurashi pulled away after a few minutes, wiping her eyes.

"Please, come into the house."

Kagome followed the older woman into the house, thankful that she had such a wonderful, caring mother.

Inuyasha sat with Kagome at the table, while Mrs. Higurashi made some tea.

"Please," Mrs. Higurashi's voice hitched at this point. "Tell me what happened."

Kagome took a deep breath. She told her mom everything. About how she came home, found them in the kitchen. When she woke up in Naraku's grasp, but she decidedly left out most of the time in Naraku's castle. She told her about being rescued, then coming back to check up on her family.

Mrs. Higurashi listened. By the time Kagome was finished, she had made up her mind.

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to go back there again, Kagome. Not after what's happened. I forbid it." Mrs. Higurashi said, a tear sliding down her face.

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	9. Reactions

Disclaimer: Do I own Inuyasha? Hell no.

A/N: Sorry about the delay in updating. I had a paper for Peace Studies that I had to write…I really hate that class.

Chapter 8

"I don't think it's a good idea for you to go back there again, Kagome. Not after what's happened. I forbid it." Mrs. Higurashi said, a tear sliding down her face.

Inuyasha looked at Mrs. Higurashi. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. Normally, Mrs. Higurashi was a very reasonable woman; he figured that she would realize that since Naraku got through the well once, he could very well do so again.

Kagome cleared her throat and wiped her tears away with the back of her hand.

"Mama, please," Kagome's voice cracked painfully. Staring at her hands that were folded on the table, she continued.

"Mama, don't you understand? Na-Naraku can get through the well now. I'm no safer here than back there—"

"I don't care!" Mrs. Higurashi interrupted angrily, waving her hand. "At least here I can watch over you."

Inuyasha had had enough.

"What exactly are you going to do, anyway? You can't stop Naraku." Inuyasha stood up and began to pace in the small kitchen back and forth angrily. "You're not strong enough!"

Mrs. Higurashi stood as well. They were now standing face to face in the kitchen, staring each other down as Kagome sat and watched from her spot at the end of the kitchen table.

"Well, apparently neither are you, or none of this would've happened." Mrs. Higurashi said vehemently.

Inuyasha's anger began to fall away, only to be replaced by guilt.

Mrs. Higurashi was right. He had no right to be angry with her, she was only angry because her baby girl had gotten hurt. She had every right to be angry with him. She had been hurt when he was supposed to be her protector, for kami-sama's sake!

Inuyasha tore his eyes from Mrs. Higurashi's angry face, turning to Kagome. Her face had paled considerably, and she was trembling.

"N-Naraku ca-can get me here…he knows ex-exactly wh-where I'll b-be…" Her voice trailed off, and the smell of salt and fear hit Inuyasha's nose.

Mrs. Higurashi stepped forward, intending on comforting her only daughter, but the sound of Kagome's voice stopped her.

"I-I-Inuyasha wo-won't be h-here…" Kagome looked up at that moment, tears making their way down her pale face.

The sight of her daughter in so much suffering broke Mrs. Higurashi out of her trance. She went around the table and touched Kagome's shoulder gently, intending on comforting her.

Kagome jerked viciously out of her mother's grasp, so viciously that she launched herself out of the chair to fall painfully on the floor, the chair hitting the floor with a resounding crack. She began to crawl backwards away from Mrs. Higurashi, only stopping when her back hit the wall of the kitchen behind the table.

Inuyasha watched the scene unfold before him with a sickening feeling in his stomach. Kagome was acting like she had when he had first found her, afraid of everyone and everything.

Mrs. Higurashi turned towards Inuyasha, helplessness written clearly on her face.

Inuyasha shook his head, as if saying, 'Let me handle this.'

He crept slowly towards the hysterical miko, who was currently trying to burrow herself further into the unforgiving kitchen wall.

He knelt before her, and reached a hand slowly out to touch the side of her face.

Kagome looked up, and the sight broke Inuyasha's heart. Her face was wet with tears, her eyes were full of terror, and he could clearly smell fear radiating off of her small form.

Inuyasha quickly backed away from the hysterical miko, not wanting to scare or startle her. He had no idea what to do.

"Kagome, it's just us. You don't have to be afraid…" Mrs. Higurashi crept closer, extending her hand.

"No! Don't!" Inuyasha said quickly, holding his hand out to stop her. The smell of fear was getting stronger.

Mrs. Higurashi sent Inuyasha a glare that clearly said, 'Who the hell do you think you are to tell me what I can and cannot do?'

"She's afraid of you," Inuyasha quietly explained. "I can smell it; whenever you get close it gets worse."

Mrs. Higurashi looked at Inuyasha, then at her daughter, then back to Inuyasha. She opened her mouth as if to say something, then quickly closed it.

"What do you mean, she's afraid of me? She's never been afraid of me before. She's my daughter, for kami-sama's sake! She can't be afraid of me!"

Before Inuyasha could stop her, Mrs. Higurashi had closed the distance separating her from her daughter. She knelt down and grabbed ahold of one of Kagome's hands, intent on pulling her up from her position on the floor.

Kagome stiffened. Mrs. Higurashi quickly let go of her hand and looked at Inuyasha questioningly. Inuyasha nodded sadly, his eyes still trained on the miko's face.

Mrs. Higurashi slowly got up and backed away. When she reached Inuyasha, she said, "How are we supposed to fix this? It's like she doesn't recognize us…" her voice trailed off sadly.

"Let me try." Inuyasha took a step forward, but was stopped when Mrs. Higurashi grabbed the sleeve of his fire rat gi.

"Don't—you saw how she just reacted!" She whispered angrily.

"That was to you, not me." Inuyasha whispered back just as angry. "I know what I'm doing."

He wrenched his arm out of her grasp, and made his way over to Kagome's side. He reached down and picked her up bridal style. She stiffened immediately.

"It's just me, wench. No one is going to hurt you." Inuyasha held his breath, hoping this worked.

Kagome looked up, her eyes boring into Inuyasha's golden ones. It was as if the whole world had shrunk until it only included the space in between them. The moment seemed to last forever.

As suddenly as it started, it stopped. Kagome buried her face into Inuyasha's shoulder, crying hysterically. He could feel her whole body trembling against his as he gently and silently carried her up the stairs to her room, leaving Mrs. Higurashi speechless in the kitchen.

Inuyasha kicked in the door and then kicked it shut behind him, not caring who heard him. He strode over to Kagome's pink bed and sat down, leaning against the wall with Kagome still in his arms.

"Shh…it's alright..." Inuyasha said, resting his chin on the top of her head.

It was like Kagome couldn't even hear him. She was lost, lost in a nightmare that she couldn't seem to escape. Inuyasha vowed, not for the first time and certainly not for the last, to make Naraku pay for every fucking _second_ she was afraid and miserable.

'Fucking bastard, he will pay for what he's done. I swear on my life, he will pay.'

No matter how hard he tried, however, he couldn't get Mrs. Higurashi's words out of his mind.

"_Well, apparently neither are you, or none of this would've happened."_

'She's right…I wasn't there to save her. She was gone for days….why the fuck didn't I realize that she was gone? I should have paid more attention. If I had, she would still be happy, not suffering like she is now. It's all my fault…'

Slowly, her cries subsided and her breathing evened out, telling Inuyasha that she had fallen asleep. Inuyasha sat there for who-knows how long, just holding her.

The sound of the door opening greeted his ears sometime later, and he turned his head. Mrs. Higurashi was standing there, a look on her face that Inuyasha couldn't read.

She stepped closer, but stopped a few feet away from Kagome's bedside.

"How is she?" She whispered, not wanting to wake her daughter up and frighten her like she had earlier.

"She's sleeping—for now. She needs to rest." Inuyasha whispered back, not taking his eyes off of the still form in his lap. She appeared to be so exhausted that she didn't notice their conversation.

"I-I'm sorry…for the way I acted earlier. I was just-just afraid for her. I don't want this to happen again—"

"Do you think I wanted this to happen in the first place?" Inuyasha turned to face her, anger and guilt clearly written all over his face.

"Do you think I enjoy seeing her like this? I don't! This…is the last thing I ever wanted." Inuyasha's voice grew softer, until Mrs. Higurashi had to strain to hear what the young half-demon was saying.

"It's like she's so-so broken. I don't know what to do. It's tearing all of us apart. Hell, it's tearing _me_ apart." He hung his head low.

Mrs. Higurashi appeared to consider his words for a moment. "Take her back."

Inuyasha's head snapped up so fast it was a miracle he didn't get whiplash. "What?"

"You heard me. Take her back. It'll be easier for you to protect her there, and clearly she can't stay here…she's a basket case. I don't want to keep her here if it frightens her so much…"

Inuyasha's heart swelled. Even after all that had just happened, Mrs. Higurashi trusted him to protect her daughter. He'd never had that kind of unyielding trust before.

"I'll take her back as soon as she wakes up."

Mrs. Higurashi gave Inuyasha's shoulder a quick squeeze, then quietly left the room, leaving the young half-demon to care for her daughter.

000000000

Kagome opened her eyes slowly, slowly adjusting to the darkness.

She slowly realized that she was not lying on her bed, nor was she in the kitchen. She shifted, and her 'bed' suddenly talked.

"Are you awake?" Kagome recognized Inuyasha's voice immediately.

"Y-yeah…" Kagome whispered back.

"Are you ready to go back?"

"Back where? My mom said…"

"No, she said you could go back. I told her we were leaving as soon as you woke up."

Kagome sat up, and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes. "How long have I been asleep? Last thing I remember is being in the kitchen, and it was daytime."

Inuyasha whispered back, "You mean you don't remember leaving the kitchen?"

Kagome shook her head. "No…I remember sitting at the table, then nothing."

Inuyasha's brow furrowed. 'What?'

Kagome stretched, then stood up.

"Can we leave now, then? I really don't want to be here any longer than I have too." Kagome whispered.

They quietly made their way down the stairs and out the back door. They walked in silence until they made it to the old wellhouse. As Inuyasha opened the door, he heard Kagome's voice.

"Inuyasha?" Kagome whispered quietly. "I'm sorry."

"For what?" Inuyasha turned to stare at his companion, shutting the wellhouse door behind them.

"For putting you through all of this. I'm really sorry." Kagome hung her head low, and Inuyasha could smell the sudden aroma of salt.

Suddenly, a pair of strong arms wrapped around her. She looked up to see Inuyasha staring down at her through his amber orbs.

"This is not your fault, wench! Don't blame yourself…It wasn't your fault. Please," his voice uncharacteristically hitched at this point. "If anything, it was my fault."

It was Kagome's turn to get angry. She wrenched herself out of Inuyasha's arms. She backed a couple of steps away from her hanyou protector, anger clearly showing on her features.

"How can you blame yourself? There was nothing you could have done! How dare you blame yourself…this was my fault! I was the one who couldn't stop him from hurting my family! I was the one who couldn't stop him from hurting me! I was the one who couldn't stop him from…from…"

Kagome couldn't finish her sentence. She fell to her knees in the dirt, sobbing hysterically.

Inuyasha stood there dumbfounded. Not since he had found her had she been so angry. There had to be something that he could do to take away her pain…to make her forget what had happened.

So he did the only thing he could do. He sat next to her and pulled her into his lap, comforting her.

'I will make Naraku pay for what he has done…and I will help Kagome…'

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	10. Hunting

Disclaimer: I obviously don't own Inuyasha, or this would not be called a fanfiction.

A/N: Sorry about the delay in updating. I've been really busy. It's early in the morning, so forgive me of any mistakes. I'll fix them.

And the moment you've all been waiting for, FLUFF! Well, kinda. Not really.

Chapter 9

"NO! Absolutely not!"

"Inuyasha, please? It's not like you can find them without me, you know." Kagome glared pointedly.

It had all started earlier that morning. Inuyasha announced that they would be looking for the missing jewel shards, but Kagome would stay behind in the village with Shippo. Inuyasha then retreated to his tree, the God tree, where Kagome followed him.

"We can find them without you, it's just a matter of digging and searching. You're staying here with Kaede. End of discussion."

Kagome let out a squeal of frustration. The stubborn hanyou just would not listen.

Inuyasha misinterpreted her squeal of frustration for a sob, and his eyes softened momentarily. He jumped down from the tree, his bangs hiding his amber eyes.

"I just don't want to see you get hurt again." He spoke so softly that Kagome's human ears barely picked up the sound.

When he looked up, his amber eyes were clouded in pain. Without warning, he wrapped his arms around Kagome's startled form, using his hand to stroke Kagome's hair comfortingly.

Kagome stiffened instinctively. The feel of arms around her brought back bad memories.

'Breathe, Kagome. It's just Inuyasha…its okay.' Kagome took a couple of slow, deep breaths before she realized that Inuyasha was speaking to her.

"…can't expect you to look for the shards…"

Kagome looked up expectantly. "How do you expect to find them without me? Please, Inuyasha?" She put her best effort into making Inuyasha realize how much this truly meant to her.

Inuyasha relented. "Fine, we leave at dawn." He left the hut abruptly.

'Inuyasha's getting soft…' Kagome giggled at the thought. She could get used to this.

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Sango wiped the sweat of her brow with the back of her hand.

'It sure is hot out here.' She glanced back at Miroku, making sure his hands were to himself. He gave her his best 'I'm completely innocent' look in return.

Sango sighed. 'Some people never change.'

'Then again, maybe they do.' She thought as she turned her head to look towards Kagome and Inuyasha.

Inuyasha had been at Kagome's side all day, never being two steps away from the young miko. She, in turn, never really made any effort to move away from him.

This, however, tended to increase their daily bickering.

Sometime later, they reached a small clearing that was surrounded by close-knit trees. The sun was beginning to set, casting colors of red and orange across the blue sky. Somewhere in the distance, an owl began to coo.

"I'm tired," Shippo complained from his perch on Kagome's shoulder.

"Just a little farther, Shippo. Can you wait that long?" Kagome turned to ask him.

Shippo's eyes widened, and his bottom lip began to tremble. "I don't know if I can make it any longer! I'm tired…" He flopped himself over Kagome's shoulder dramatically to accent his point.

Inuyasha snorted.

"Inuyasha, lets stop for the night. This looks like a good place to camp." Kagome put the kitsune baby down and began to unpack her sleeping bag.

"No, we've taken three breaks already!" Inuyasha whirled around and pointed at Shippo. "He can't be tired, you've been carrying him all day and coddling him! He's had it easy!"

Miroku chuckled at Inuyasha's small temper tantrum, turning it into a polite cough when the hanyou turned to glare at him.

"Kagome's right, Inuyasha," Sango said, laying down Hiraikotsu. "Besides, we may not find a good clearing like this for miles. We should stop here."

"Keh." Inuyasha knew when he was outvoted, and instead leapt up into the nearest tree to pout as the humans set up camp.

000000000000

Inuyasha took the first watch. He had been waiting for night to come for some time, so he could be alone with his thoughts.

'What made Kagome want to come shard hunting?'

He looked down at the said person in question, his eyes softening. He could hear the steady harmony of Kagome's breathing, signaling that the young miko had fallen asleep.

'I'd be much easier for me to make Naraku suffer…if she would just stay in her time like I told her too…'

Deep down, Inuyasha knew that wasn't true. He wanted to make Naraku suffer, suffer the most cruel, vile thing he could possibly think of. He just didn't want Kagome to have to see it. In fact, he never wanted to give the bastard the chance to lay eyes on Kagome again.

The very thought of Naraku leering at Kagome made his stomach turn, bile rising in his throat.

'If it's the last thing I do, he will fucking suffer…'

A small noise from the campsite below dragged Inuyasha out of his dreams of pulling Naraku apart limb from limb.

He jumped down, crossing the campsite easily to the source of the noise.

Kagome lay in her sleeping bag, with Shippo curled up against her stomach. Every so often, she would whimper and twitch back in her sleep.

Inuyasha reached down and pulled the sleeping kitsune from the bag, but had barely put him down before a distinct smell wafted past his super-sensitive nose.

The smell of salt…and something else he couldn't quite place. He sniffed dramatically, before it clicked. He had smelled this before.

FLASHBACK

"But Mom," a much younger Inuyasha whined. "Why not? Why can't I go outside?"

"Because, my beautiful Inu-chan…" his mother cooed, tweeking his nose affectionately. She had a faraway, sad look in her eyes as she picked up her young son. "It's a dangerous world out there."

"Can't I at least look out the window? I want to see the sun set…" Inuyasha trailed off.

"Sure, go right ahead." His mom carried him over to the window, and he looked outside at the empty village.

Just in front of the window, a woman straightened up after tending her garden. She straightened the kinks from her back and petted her belly affectionately.

"Mommy, why does that lady do that?" Inuyasha pointed to the woman.

"She's going to have a baby, Inu-chan."

END FLASHBACK

Inuyasha's eyes widened. He leaned close, until he was about two inches away from Kagome, and inhaled again.

It was faint, barely noticeable, but it was there.

Inuyasha tore himself away from Kagome and began to shout at the top of his lungs, startling his traveling companions out of their slumber.

"Naraku, you're going to fucking DIE!"

00000000000

I know, you all hate me. Naraku's plan will be revealed shortly.


	11. Kagura

Disclaimer: Don't own any Inuyasha. Never have, never will.

Chapter 10

"Naraku, you're going to fucking DIE!"

Inuyasha tore through the campsite. Innocent branches were no match for the raging hanyou as he hopped into the trees, intent on finding the bastard Naraku's scent. He sniffed delicately, and then took off in the north direction as his companions below him stared in confused fascination.

"W-What?" Sango sat up sleepily. "What was that about?"

"I'm sure Inuyasha has a good reason for taking off this early in the morning," Miroku shifted, trying to find a more comfortable position to fall asleep in. Kind of hard to do that, though, when you're sleeping against a tree. "He knows where we are. He'll come back."

Sango didn't look convinced. "Are you sure?"

Miroku nodded, his head tilted meaningfully in Kagome's general direction. Sango's eyes followed, noticing that Kagome seemed a little…dazed.

"Kagome-chan? Are you all right?"

Kagome looked up into the expectant eyes of her friends. She didn't know what to say. What could she say? She had a sickening feeling in the pit of her stomach that the reason Inuyasha took off had something to do with her.

Finally her brain caught up. "I'm fine, don't worry about me. Go back to sleep. I'm sure he'll be back before morning."

As soon as her companions were asleep, Kagome wiggled out of her sleeping bag. She carefully laid the sleeping Shippo next to Kirara, and quietly snuck into the forest.

As soon as she was sure she was out of earshot of camp, she took off at a dead run in the direction Inuyasha had.

'It's all my fault he left; I have to find him before he gets into trouble…'

She tripped over a tree root protruding into her path, cutting her bare foot. She briefly examined it, noting that the bleeding was already beginning to stop. She began to follow the path again, this time being more careful of where she was going.

So absorbed in her thoughts, she never noticed that she had left her bow back at camp.

0000000

Inuyasha slammed his fist into the mud in sheer frustration. The scent he had caught back in camp was faint at best, meaning that it was a few days old.

And just when it appeared that it was getting stronger, it had started raining. The rain washed all remnants of the scent away until Naraku was completely untrackable.

'That bastard hanyou is going to die!'

He leapt into the trees again, intent on traveling in the direction the scent led in before it started raining. After a couple of minutes, he spotted smoke coming from an unusually large clearing.

'What the…'

Inuyasha immediately leapt down to investigate.

The remnants of the village looked almost identical to the village he had found Kagome in some time ago. Smoke billowed out of piles of rubble. Fires were still burning, resisting the effort of the rain to put them out.

Inuyasha stared in morbid fascination at the destruction for the longest time. It seemed as if destruction followed Naraku everywhere. It was a sure thing that it was Naraku who had destroyed it…who else would have that kind of power?

"I knew you would eventually come." A familiar voice chuckled.

Inuyasha whirled around in record time, unsheathing Tetsusaiga reflexively.

"WIND SCAR!!"

The light of the wind scar vanished without ever hitting Kagura. In fact, it missed her by such a distance that it was embarrassing. He readied his sword again, intending on blowing Kagura straight to hell, when she spoke up again.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you…I have some information that you might find of use."

Inuyasha scoffed. "Why would I believe a lying bitch like you? Prepare to die!"

He stopped in mid-swing when Kagura said, "It's about Kagome."

"What? What do you know about Kagome? WHAT DID HE TELL YOU?!?!"

Kagura stepped forward. She took a deep breath, and continued.

"Naraku…intended to produce an…incarnation of sorts with your miko," Kagura took a deep breath and continued. "His ultimate goal is more power, whether it be by gathering more shards or absorbing powerful youkai. He intends to use this…new development to gain enough power to take over all the land he sees."

Kagura turned and stepped onto her feather, rising into the sky while the rain continued to fall in dangerous sheets around them both.

Inuyasha growled dangerously. "Then why did he just leave her? Why didn't he take the shards?"

Kagura whirled around, her eyes flashing. "You insolent hanyou, do I have to explain everything to you? Which would be a greater asset, a couple of shards when he already has so many or an incarnation that is immune to miko magic?"

Inuyasha spat, "How do I know that I can trust you?"

Kagura chuckled under her breath. "You don't."

She then took off, her feather a mere speck against the rainy sky. Inuyasha stood, dumbfounded.

'Naraku plans to…_absorb_ is own incarnation? Is that even possible? What about Kagome? Would he absorb her too? Can he?'

Inuyasha shook his head violently. 'I'll never let him lay another finger on her as long as I'm still alive.'

Inuyasha slowly made his way out of the destroyed village, the weather reflecting his somber mood. How was he supposed to tell Kagome what Kagura had just told him? How was he supposed to know if Kagura was even telling the truth? Could he truly trust her, knowing that it was likely she had destroyed that village? Why else would she be there?

And the most burning question in his mind had yet to be answered.

How would Kagome take the news?


	12. Kikyou

Disclaimer: Me no own any Inuyasha.

This story is InuKag, just to clear up any discrepancies. I'm slowly turning this story from a tragedyesque story into a romance. Give it time…it'll work out.

Chapter 10

Inuyasha trudged slowly through the rain-soaked forest, his eyes downcast. The weather seemed to reflect his somber mood accurately.

He was heading towards camp, abeit slowly. He needed some time to think. Think about…well, everything.

'How do I know that we can even trust Kagura, anyway? It's not like she's exactly been so helpful to us in the past, you know…and if what she said was true, why did she let this happen in the first place?'

'Maybe the same reason _you_ let this happen,' a nasty voice piped up in his head.

That stopped the hanyou in his tracks.

'Face it…its your fault this happened. You didn't just let her down. You let them all down. You're always bragging about your enhanced demonic senses, yet you didn't smell Naraku anywhere near the well. Hell, you didn't smell him anywhere near Kaede's _village_. What good is being hanyou if you can't smell danger in your own backyard?'

'How are you going to tell her she's pregnant, anyway? It's not like you can just bring it up during lunch or dinner. How would that conversation go? Dinner smells great, by the way you're pregnant. Pass the chopsticks, would ya?'

He began his trek back towards camp, dragging his bare feet slowly through the muddy ground. The rain had washed away all scents, including his own. Therefore, he wasn't aware of anyone else until he saw the soul snatchers.

They were gathered around their mistress in the center of a dense clearing about the size of a large bedroom.

'Kikyo…'

Inuyasha hesitantly took a few steps forward. Kikyo turned sharply, as though she sensed his presence.

The look on her face shocked Inuyasha. During their brief time together, Inuyasha had never really seen her get overly emotional. Emotions get in the way of duties, she always said. Duties like the Shikon no Tama.

She made no such effort now. Her cheeks were red and inflamed, her eyes wide in anger.

She looked absolutely pissed.

"What-"

"How in the seven hells did Naraku get my reincarnation away from you along enough to conceive a new heir?"

Inuyasha faltered. "I-"

Kikyo stood quickly and began to pace back and forth in the small clearing.

"If the child…no, if Naraku…maybe an arrow…no, no immune to purity arrows…" she shook her head violently and continued, "No…it would have to be…"

Inuyasha finally found his voice. "How exactly did you know, Kikyo?"

Kikyo stopped, her back facing Inuyasha. "I have my ways."

She spun on her heels, facing Inuyasha. "That being must be terminated. It cannot be allowed to grow. It will spread like a plague upon mankind, making Naraku almost invincible."

Something snapped inside of Inuyasha. "How can you be so callous, so uncaring?"

"What do you know? I do care…that's the reason I'm telling you this! It is not likely that my reincarnation will survive the birth of such a child, and the rest of mankind will follow her!"

Inuyasha felt like he had been punched in the gut. His breath became short and labored, and his heart felt like it was going to beat its way completely out of his chest.

'Kagome…will die?'

A small gasp to the right caught both their attention. They couldn't see who it was through the dense underbrush, but Inuyasha didn't have too. His nose registered the soft scent of lilac shampoo.

'Oh shit…'

"Kagome!"

Inuyasha glanced at Kikyo one last time before taking off towards the direction Kagome had fled.

Kikyo, for her part, watched the red and silver blur until he was no longer visible.

'They must do what is right before its too late…countless lives depend on it."

0000000000

Sorry this chapter's so short. Next chapter will be in a week or so.


	13. Pregnant

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha.

oOo…confrontation! BTW…I kinda consider this one of the emotional climaxes of the story…its going to be an important turning point in turning this fic from an angstfest to a much happier InuKag story! I'm excited!!

Don't worry…this story still has awhile to go! It's going strong!

Chapter 11

Kagome ran through the forest, paying no attention to where she was going. Ran until the breath burned her lungs, all in vain. She could never outrun what she had just witnessed.

'I'm…pregnant? But…why?'

Finally, when her legs couldn't take the endless sprinting anymore, she slowed to a leisurely pace, clutching her side in an attempt to regain her bearings. She wasn't used to running this fast for so long.

Inuyasha hadn't appeared yet, but he was the last thing on Kagome's mind at the moment. Her brain was still processing the new information.

So, naturally, when Inuyasha jumped from a tree overhead to land right behind her, it startled her.

No, scratch that. It scared the living hell out of her. She whirled around, her hair whipping wildly and her eyes wide with a heartbreaking mixture of apprehension and fear.

Inuyasha flinched. The look on her face, in her eyes…_hurt_. He struggled for a couple of seconds, trying to form coherent thoughts.

'It's…my fault…she's afraid…I can't stand…to see her so afraid…so…_broken_…but why did…she come out here in the middle of the night?'

The look on Inuyasha's face startled Kagome almost as much as his unorthodox arrival had. His face was downcast, like he was deep in thought about something very depressing. When his golden eyes rose to meet her dark brown ones, she gasped. They were wide and moist, with hidden emotions she couldn't detect swirling beneath the surface. She looked down, suddenly unable to meet his gaze.

Inuyasha took a deep breath, intent on breaking the uncomfortable silence that had fallen between the two. "Kagome…"

She interrupted him. "Why didn't you tell me?"

She spoke quietly, as if speaking too loudly might wake some fairly tale forest monsters intent on eating everyone in sight. Her scent began to shift, from apprehension and trepidation to the unmistakable scent of anger.

"I—I didn't think…"

"That's your problem, Inuyasha. You don't think." Kagome spoke quietly. Her head snapped up sharply, her eyes blazing with anger.

"How long have you known?" she whispered, anger lacing her voice.

"I-I-I—"

"Do Sango and Miroku know too? Did you tell them as well as Kikyo? Am I truly the last to find out?" She turned around, no longer able to look at the hanyou.

He finally found his voice, along with his anger. "I didn't tell anyone, baka! I only realized it today!" His voice rose with every syllable, until he was shouting the last word.

She stiffened considerably. "Then how did Kikyo know, huh? She hasn't even seen me since way before it happened! SOMEONE had to tell her!"

"Well, it wasn't me, so don't go blaming me, you stupid wench!"

"Who else knew? You were the only one who's been with me, the only one who could tell! How did she find out?" Kagome spun on her heels, putting her nose-to-nose with the enraged hanyou.

"I don't know." Inuyasha ground out, gritting his teeth. "And if you're not smart enough to see that, then I don't know what to tell you."

Inuyasha spun around. He took a deep breath, and began marching and stomping his way back to camp, much like a spoiled child stomps his way up the stairs after being scolded.

He hadn't got more than a few steps when Kagome spoke up.

"What else am I supposed to think? That she just 'magically' came upon this information? She's suddenly become a psychic as well as the 'perfect miko'? Well, I'm sorry, but that story just screams fraud to me! SOMEONE is lying!"

Inuyasha stopped in his tracks. He suddenly whirled around, fangs glistening in the moonlight, his golden eyes flashing dangerously.

He slowly advanced on Kagome, yelling, "How DARE you imply that I would tell her and then lie to you about it! You obviously don't know the first thing about me, or what I would do! Don't you DARE insult my integrity like that EVER!"

At this point, Inuyasha was staring steadfast into Kagome's brown eyes, his breath coming out heavy. Kagome, for her part, finally seemed to have calmed down enough to listen. Her eyes were wide, staring right into Inuyasha's gold ones..

Or so Inuyasha thought. The longer he stood there, the more his anger seemed to melt away. He began to get worried. They had been standing there, face to face for more than thirty seconds after Inuyasha's outburst, and Kagome hadn't moved. At all.

In fact, she was so still that something had to be wrong. His eyes raked over her still form, checking for injuries he may have previously missed. He found none, and his eyes rose once again, seeking Kagome's. He inhaled deeply, trying to placate his worry.

He immediately choked.

The fear coming off of Kagome was…intense. She was terrified. Now that he looked closer, her body was trembling slightly, and tears were streaming out of her eyes. She backed up a couple of steps, trying to put as much distance between herself and Inuyasha as she could.

How could he have missed that? Had he stopped to think about it, he would have picked a more tactful approach to Kagome's outburst. But no, he had dealt with the stressful situation the only way he knew how. Fighting back.

And now it very much looked like it was going to come back and bite him in the ass.

He reached out with his hand, attempting to console the obviously frightened miko. She took a couple of steps forward, making Inuyasha's heart leap.

Then drop like a lead brick when she turned and ran in the opposite direction.

He immediately gave chase. 'Damn it, little girl, come back here!'

He heard her crashing through the dense underbrush, gasping and panting. A new smell wafted past his nose, and he instantly added more speed to his already exhausted legs.

The smell of Kagome's blood. Not a lot, but it was there. She had probably cut herself dashing through a thornbush or something like that. It was little comfort to Inuyasha, though.

'Is she truly so anxious to get away from me that she'll do whatever it takes to get away from me?'

The hanyou caught up to Kagome in a matter of minutes. He dropped down, and grabbed Kagome's shoulders, pulling her into a fierce embrace.

The scent of her fear increased exponentially, so thick that Inuyasha couldn't even smell himself over it. She began to struggle violently, striking Inuyasha with her fists and kicking her legs.

"No…GET AWAY! Leave me alone! I don't want to do this! Just go away, and leave me alone! I don't want to do this anymore!"

Inuyasha just held her tighter. His grip was tight, bordering on painful. She stilled, her eyes glazing over. Her body began to tremble, and the fear scent was stronger than ever. Stronger than Inuyasha had ever sensed in his life.

Her knees gave out, and she would have collapsed if it weren't for Inuyasha. He lowered her and himself to the ground, pulling her into his lap as he sat cross-legged on the dirt.

The look in her eyes…reminded him of when he had first found her. It was as if she had separated herself from her own body…as if she were in another world.

He touched her cheek lightly with his hand. She flinched instantly, turning pain-filled eyes towards his. He opened his mouth to speak, but before he could, she interrupted him.

"Why…why didn't you just leave me there to die…" she whispered.

Inuyasha was shocked. Is this what that bastard had done to her? Broken her spirit so? He fought back the tears that came to his own eyes, pulling her closer to himself.

"I-I-I…couldn't do that, Kagome. You…mean too much to me. I can't…live without you. I…love you too much." He whispered the last sentence, not realizing that Kagome had heard him.

A slow smile spread across his face when the debilitating fear quickly eased out of her scent, leaving only the smell of salt as she cried herself to sleep in the comfort of his arms.


	14. Attack

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha…pfft.

Chapter 13

Miroku and Shippo were alert and awake when Inuyasha returned at dawn, clutching a sleeping Kagome in his arms.

It was clear that something had transpired between the two. Kagome's face was wet with tears and swollen from crying. Miroku opened his mouth to say something, but one glare from the golden-eyed demon made him reconsider his choice. He wasn't prepared to die just yet.

Shippo had no such reservations.

"What did you do to Kagome, you big bully?!" Shippo screeched, latching himself to the top of Inuyasha's head and began chewing busily in retaliation.

He swatted the angry kitsune away, watching as he flew across the small clearing to land on a barely-awake Sango.

Kagome began to stir in his arms. Her eyes opened, squinting in response to the steadily rising sun.

"Kagome!" Shippo immediately launched himself into her lap, narrowly avoiding Inuyasha's hand as he tried to swat the kit away.

Kagome instinctively clutched the kitsune baby to her, listening as he babbled something about "Inuyasha," and "bully."

Kagome gasped softly in surprise as the events of the previous night rushed back into her memory.

'He…he good as said that I…mean something to him. Does that mean that maybe...' She shook her head. 'No, he loves Kikyo. But…at least I mean _something_ to him.'

"Kagome?"

The sound of Sango's voice brought Kagome out of her daze. Everyone was staring at her expectantly.

"I-I-I'm awake." Kagome said softly.

They continued to stare at her as Inuyasha set her on her feet.

"Would you like to go to the hot springs with me, Sango?" Kagome asked excitedly.

"But you just went a few days ago!" Inuyasha said indignantly. "Why do you need—"

The rest of his sentence was lost on deaf ears as Kagome dragged Sango towards the hot springs.

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"Stop pacing, Inuyasha." Miroku mumbled for the fifth time. "You're making _me_ nervous."

Inuyasha stopped his pacing momentarily to glare at the monk before resuming his pacing. He had been pacing for at least twenty minutes, and the ground under his feet showed it.

"I'm not nervous!" he bit out angrily.

Miroku gave Inuyasha a look that clearly said, 'Sure…we believe you.'

Inuyasha wanted to wipe that all-knowing look off of his face with his claws. He came thisssss close when Miroku spoke up again.

"The grass under your feet might say otherwise."

"There is no grass under my feet, bouzo." Inuyasha ground out.

Miroku sighed dramatically. "That's my point."

Inuyasha snorted angrily. "What do you care, anyway?"

Miroku stood, stretching lazily towards the morning sky.

"Since you're not nervous, I think I'm going to take a walk." Miroku took a few steps towards the direction that Kagome and Sango had gone, only to bounce of a solid wall to land on his butt in the dirt.

A solid wall that was wearing a red haori and no shoes.

"Don't you even think about it, bouzo. You're not going anywhere near those hot springs."

Miroku grinned mischievously. His plan was working perfectly. 'If only he'd realize how nervous he is when Kagome isn't around…'

"My, Inuyasha, do you have no faith in me? I'm merely a humble servant of Buddha."

Miroku tried to sidestep Inuyasha. He hadn't gotten maybe two feet past him when a clawed hand pulled him back by his ponytail and threw him to the ground a few feet away.

Miroku gasped as the air was knocked out of his lungs.

Inuyasha kneeled until he was face to face with Miroku. Golden eyes stared angrily into Miroku's violet ones.

"No one is getting anywhere near those hot springs, got it?" Inuyasha whispered dangerously.

Miroku nodded enthusiastically and held up his hands in a peaceful manner.

'Maybe I underestimated just how protective he is of Kagome now…' Miroku thought as he rubbed his bruised skull.

Inuyasha, meanwhile, had resumed his brutal assault on the poor grass, pacing up and down frantically and muttering about stupid wenches.

'That didn't go entirely as planned, so I'll just have to keep trying.'

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"So what exactly did he say?" Sango asked excitedly.

Kagome stared at her reflection as she said, "That I mean a lot to him. What does that mean?"

Kagome had told Sango everything that occurred the previous night, with some minor exceptions.

"It means that he cares for you, Kagome. More than you know. Maybe even more than he knows."

Kagome sighed. "I suppose so. We'd better get back. Inuyasha didn't look to excited to see us leave."

Sango swam towards the shoreline, and Kagome followed. "He's never too excited to see you leave, Kagome."

Kagome laughed. "No, that's not it." Her voice took on a saddened tone as she said, "He just doesn't want to delay looking for the shards any more than he has too."

Sango looked at her sharply. "You know that isn't true, Kagome."

Kagome nodded, only partially believing Sango. They quickly redressed and began their trek back to camp.

Even though it was mid-morning, it seemed dark to Kagome. Ominous. Like the calm before the storm.

She stuck close to Sango. A dull pain began to make itself known in Kagome's lower abdomen. Nothing unbearable, just a dull throbbing pain.

She hardly noticed as her pace began to slow. Her hand instinctively clutched her stomach as the pain began to increase exponentially. Her breath quickened, and white dots began to cloud her vision.

"Kagome? Are you alright?"

As suddenly as it appeared, the pain was gone. Kagome shook her head to clear her vision and wiped her hand across her forehead to sop up the sweat that had accumulated there.

"I'm okay, Sango. Let's just get back to camp. I'm tired."

A sudden movement to their right caught both girls' attention. They watched as two angry-looking insect youkai emerged from the underbrush, eyes glittering in bloodlust.

"Don't move, Kagome. When I say so, run as fast as you can towards camp." Sango said, never taking her eyes off of the two youkai.

"But—"

"GO!" Sango yelled, grabbing her arm and shoving her forward.

Kagome did the only thing she could think of.

She ran.

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Inuyasha stopped his frantic pacing suddenly, startling the dozing monk. He lifted his head up high into the air and inhaled deeply. He swore colorfully and took off at full speed towards the hot springs as a scream pierced the air.

Miroku followed, grabbing his staff in the process. He narrowly avoided a sleeping Shippo as he sprinted towards the hot spring in pursuit of the golden-eyed half demon.

The sight that greeted the two young men is something neither would ever forget.

Sango was unconscious, laying bound and gagged on her side facing Miroku and Inuyasha. Kagome was barely conscious, pinned up against a tree while the youkai were in the process of binding her just as they had bound Sango. Miroku rushed past Inuyasha to Sango, pulled her out of harm's way and checking her pulse. She was alive.

An inhuman roar erupted from the half demon's throat as he charged for the nearest youkai. The insect youkai's exoskeleton was no match for the hanyou's claws as Inuyasha quickly sliced down the youkai's back, nearly slicing him in half. Blood spurted all over Inuyasha, but he paid it no attention as he turned his focus on the second youkai. The youkai, upon seeing the untimely death of his comrade, pulled Kagome closer to him, using the frightened miko as a shield.

Inuyasha stopped cold.

"If you vish to see your mate alive again, back off of ve…" the insect youkai hissed.

Inuyasha backed off a few steps as his eyes swept up and down Kagome's body, looking for wounds. His blood boiled hotter as he saw a trickle of blood snaking its way down her arm. His eyes met hers, and he growled loudly. She was frightened. Badly.

This youkai was going to pay dearly for what he had done.

A gasp from the youkai brought Inuyasha out of his daze.

The youkai's face contorted into one of pain and agony as he fell clumsily to the ground, dragging Kagome with him. Kagome scooted as far away from the dying youkai as she could with her hands and feet bound. A strong arm reached down and pulled her to her feet. She sighed in relief, then tensed in absolute terror when she heard the voice that belonged to the one who had killed the second insect youkai.

"Kukukuku…"

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My longest chapter yet! YAY!

As always, read and review!


	15. Sealed

Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha. At all.

'Kukukukukukuku…'

To Sango, it was as if the battlefield had frozen in time. She turned her head towards the hanyou, waiting to gauge his reaction.

Inuyasha's fierce growl eclipsed all other sounds as Naraku held the frightened miko close to his chest. Kirara made to leap at the pair, but Sango held her back. Any sudden movement might set Naraku off, and that might put Kagome in danger. As if she wasn't in enough danger as it was.

They all stared as Naraku inhaled deeply, chuckling under his breath. "It seems as if I left you with a little…_souvenir_ to remind you of our encounter." He spat the word souvenir as if speaking of a vile cockroach. "Too bad…the half-breed brat you are carrying won't live long enough for you to enjoy it."

Kagome's fear turned to anger at hearing Naraku's words. How dare he! How dare he speak of her unborn child…her _baby_ like that!

Something inside Kagome's mind snapped. Raw, intense power flowed through her veins. Her hands began to glow purple and she immediately grabbed onto Naraku, burning his bare flesh as he screamed in pain.

Miroku's voice was barely heard over the screaming as he cried, "Kagome-sama! You're using too much! You have to stop—"

The rest of his sentence was lost as Naraku exploded and bathed the entire area in the same purple light. Inuyasha raised his arm to protect himself, hissing as the light began to purify him and blisters began to form on his upper arm.

Then, to his shock and disbelief, the pain stopped. The light was still there, but the pain of being purified had stopped. He vaguely registered the disbelief of his comrades before the light disappeared entirely, leaving an unconscious Kagome several feet from Inuyasha.

He immediately sheathed Tetsusaiga and rushed to her side, Miroku and Sango on his heels. He gathered her up in his arms, rocking back and forth like a child. He paid no attention to the wooden doll or the lock of hair.

Sango smiled. 'I don't think he realizes how much he's changed…'

Miroku spoke up. "How amazing…"

"Were you even paying any attention, monk? She was almost kidnapped again!" Inuyasha barked angrily, sending his friend an evil death glare.

"Yes, Inuyasha, I was paying attention," Miroku snapped in irritation. "Her power recognized us. It purified Naraku's puppet but left you and Kirara alone."

"What does that mean?" Sango spoke up.

"I'm not sure…I have never heard of this, nor have I seen so much raw power come from such a young, untrained miko."

Inuyasha stood. "It doesn't matter! I'm taking her back to Kaede. You guys can follow if you want."

Miroku opened his mouth, but the hanyou was already gone.

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Kagome jerked awake some time later. Her head was pounding, making her vision blurry. Instinctively, she called out the name of the person who meant safety to her.

"Would you hush up, wench? I'm right here!" Inuyasha's gruff voice sounded somewhere above her head. She realized that they were moving, abeit at a slow pace. She could hear Inuyasha's heart beating, and that calmed her like nothing else could.

"W-Where are we?" Kagome asked.

"We're on our way back to Kaede's," Inuyasha's voice hitched uncharacteristically. He slowed and sat down, propping himself up against a nearby tree. It was probably best if he were sitting down for this next part. "I think it would be best if you went home and Kaede sealed the well. That way you'll be safe."

Kagome stiffened in his arms. The unmistakable scent of anger flowed through Inuyasha's nostrils, but he had to hold his ground. This was the only way she would be safe.

"How do you expect to find the shards without me, hn?"

"We'll manage, Kagome! It's not like we're complete idiots! We—"

"Is that all I am to you?" Kagome fought to get out of his arms, but Inuyasha wasn't budging an inch. "Just a shard detector?"

Inuyasha bit his lip. Getting angry with Kagome wasn't going to do anyone a bit of good now.

"That's not all! You could have seriously hurt someone back there with all that uncontrolled power!"

"But I didn't! I only purified Naraku—"

"But you didn't only purify Naraku!" Inuyasha yelled, yanking up the sleeve on his haori to reveal the blisters. "What if I had been Shippo? How do you think he would have taken almost being purified?"

Kagome's jaw dropped. She had assumed that since Inuyasha was still here, that she hadn't accidentally purified him.

Inuyasha bowed his head, his eyes hidden behind the curtain of his silvery bangs. His voice was significantly quieter as he said, "What if it doesn't recognize us next time? What if it purifies me, Kirara, and Shippo? What then?"

"I-I can learn to control it. If Kikyo can do it, so can I."

Inuyasha's head snapped up so fast it made Kagome wince. "Kikyo spent years training to have that kind of control. We don't HAVE years! Besides, every minute you're here you're in danger!"

"But—"

"No arguments, Kagome. You can try to fight me on this one, sit me to keep me from taking you to the well. But the minute you fall asleep, and you will fall asleep, I'm taking you. Kaede will seal it up behind you."

What was he saying? She couldn't go back! How was she supposed to explain the baby to her mom? Her mom would be so disappointed! How would she go to school? Her only future would have to be in the past, didn't he understand that?

Kagome's eyes began to burn with unshed tears. How could he be so…cold, so calculating about this?

She cried all the way back to Kaede's.

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The shoji slid shut quietly behind the lone figure. She had to be careful. Make sure to avoid the hanyou patrolling the quiet village, guarding against Naraku.

She had to do this. This was the only way to make sure that she could stay. She knew that Inuyasha would make good on his word. She could sit him, but he would just wait until she passed out from sheer exhaustion and then take her. He could stay up much later than she; he was hanyou afterall.

She quietly made her way out of the village, and dashed to the well as soon as she was sure she was out of hearing range. She had to work quickly. Just because Inuyasha couldn't hear her doesn't mean he can't smell her.

'He's probably on his way here now…I must work quickly.'

She mentally reached for the power she had tapped into earlier. Concentrating, she was able to channel it into a steady flow.

She took a deep breath, and began to pour all of it she could muster into the well. She could feel the magic of the well pushing back. She had to break it. If she broke it, he couldn't force her to go home. Go back to where it had all started. Go back to her time.

The magic of the well began to bow. She could feel it starting to wear. She had to work faster.

"Kagome! What are you doing?" Inuyasha's voice rang out behind her.

Too late. The magic of the well snapped and exploded, sending Kagome crashing into Inuyasha and the force of them both sent them flying into the underbrush.

Inuyasha sat up quickly, taking Kagome with him. She was unconscious and barely breathing. His eyes raked hers, looking for wounds. He found none, but the lack of steady breathing alarmed him like nothing else.

He picked up her inert form and ran to Kaede faster than he ever had in his life. As he did, he asked the unconscious girl the question that had been nagging him.

"What have you done, you idiot girl?"


	16. Trouble

Disclaimer: I no own Inuyasha.

Sorry for the delay in updating. I've been so busy with work and summer school.

Chapter

Inuyasha burst through Kaede's door in the dead of the night, clutching an unconscious Kagome to his chest.

"Kaede! Where are you, you old hag?!"

"Calm ye, Inuyasha. What—oh my…"

"Bring the lass over here," Kaede motioned to a pile of blankets in the corner. "What happened?"

Inuyasha carefully laid Kagome onto the pile of blankets, brushing her hair out of her face almost gently. He waited until Kaede had taken up her place beside Kagome, examining the young miko.

When he did speak, it was almost too soft for the older miko to hear.

"I don't know! She was standing next to the well, and both the well and her were glowing, and then it just exploded…" Inuyasha's eyes snapped up to meet her own.

"No…she didn't…DAMN! WHAT—"

"Hush! You'll wake her up." Kaede said as she pressed a cold compress to Kagome's forehead.

"Good! I want to know what the wench has to say about this!" Inuyasha reached for Kagome, but Kaede swatted his hand away with her own.

"The lass has used too much of her magic too fast. To wake her up at this point would be detrimental to her health. She needs to rest; rest without ye prying eyes. Leave her be."

Inuyasha glared at the older miko. Kaede steadily met his glare with one of her own.

Then, with a curse and a swish of his red haori, the hanyou left the hut.

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Inuyasha went to where he normally goes to brood, the Goshinboku.

_Why would she seal the well with her on this side?_

Maybe it is because she feels she has more of a future on this side than in her world, the logical part of his mind spoke up. After all, her society doesn't look well upon teenage pregnancies. Even under these circumstances.

_But why? Her family would support her, wouldn't they? _

But she also has family on this side of the well too. Remember how her mom acted when she learned Kagome was pregnant?

_Yeah, but...could it really be that she would rather raise her child on this side of the well than with her own family? After all, we're not exactly the typical family. A lousy hanyou, a demon slayer, a hentai monk and a child fox youkai. Not to mention an older than dirt miko._

We must have something, after all. She's risking her own safety by staying here.

_I know that! I'm going to talk to the wench about that, too. Maybe she can undo what she did to the well. I'll make her if I have to, but I'm going to make sure she's safe. The only way to guarantee her safety is to send her back to her side of the well and seal it off permanently, then destroy the well entirely. She has to realize that she's made a mistake. _

I dunno if that's a good idea. You'll just upset her more.

_What do you know?_

A lot. I'm you, duh.

_What if she doesn't want to keep the baby? Remember, Kikyo said countless lives depend on this._

She'll keep it. She's got too big of a heart to get rid of it. And nothing we can do will change her mind about _that_.

Inuyasha stayed there, up in the Goshinboku, all night long, rehashing the same arguments with himself over and over, until the sun was high in the sky. No solution came to mind.

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The sun rose over Feudal Japan, covering everything in its path in a surreal yellow glow.

Including a certain young miko lying in a hut desperately trying to get some well deserved rest.

She rolled over, desperately trying to block the sun's rays.

"I know ye are awake, child. No sense trying to hide it."

Kagome sat up slowly, wiping the sleep from her eyes.

_If only she wasn't so observant, I could have more sleep_.

"Where-Where is everyone?" Kagome asked softly, not wanting to draw too much attention to herself.

"You mean where is the young hanyou, no?"

Nothing gets by this woman, dammit.

"Him, too."

"He left not long after bringing you here."

Kagome stood. Kaede was next to her instantly, moving way too fast for a woman of her age.

"You musn't overexert yourself. You drained a lot of your magic last night. You must never, ever do that again. You risked hurting yourself, your child, and countless others by using so much untrained magic. What would you have done if the magic surrounding that old well had gone out of control? You could have killed yourself, young lady!"

Ms. Higurashi would have been proud of the tongue-lashing just given by the older miko.

"I-I didn't think…"

"Exactly. You didn't think. Why would you do such a thing in the first place?"

"I-I-I…"

"That old well's been around for centuries. No one knows how powerful it could have been. You could have seriously injured yourself, your child, Inuyasha, everyone in this village!"

"I-I just wanted to make sure that…that my family would be safe…" Kagome looked to the floor, missing the look of understanding that crossed the older miko's features.

"Child, we could have done something to make sure they would be safe."

"Like what, Kaede? I tried, I couldn't think of anything. This way, they're safe and I don't have to…to tell them that…that I'm…"

Kaede wrapped her arms around the young miko and drew her into a motherly hug.

"They love you, child. They do not blame you at all for any of this. They would not be ashamed of you. No one is. You have nothing to worry about."

Kagome drew back, tears in her eyes. "They don't have to blame me. I blame me."

Kaede grasped Kagome's shoulders. "No one blames you, and you shouldn't either. Now, go find that hanyou and tell him if he wants breakfast he'd better get in here."

Kagome walked into the sunshine, but as soon as she got to Goshinboku her courage faltered. What was she going to tell him?

"I-Inuyasha?"

A thump somewhere behind her made her turn.

The sight that greeted her frightened her. His eyes were…cold, hard. Like Sesshoumaru's.

"K-Kaede said breakfast was ready."

"What in the world were you thinking?" Inuyasha slowly advanced on the young miko.

"I-I-I—"

Inuyasha stopped a couple of feet from the young miko and continued, his eyes flashing and his voice soft but equally as angry.

"I said that the only way for you to be safe would to send you to the other side of that damn well and seal it off! And then you go and seal it off with you on the wrong side of it! Did you think that would make me happy?!"

"I wanted them to be safe, Inuyasha! Can't you understand that?!" Kagome's eyes flashed dangerously.

"What about you, Kagome? Why didn't you just go on the other side and seal it off from there? That way you'd both be safe, baka!"

"Be-because…because…" Kagome nervously said, backing away from said hanyou.

"Because why?" Inuyasha's voice was as hard as rocks as he advanced upon the miko.

Kagome's back hit the Goshinboku, effectively blocking her escape route. She looked from side to side, trying to figure the best way out.

"Well? Why?" Inuyasha's voice penetrated the fog clouding her mind.

"Because…Because…I love you." She whispered the last part, her gaze dropping to examine the dirt at Inuyasha's feet.

_What did she just say?_

"What did you just say?" Inuyasha spoke aloud.

Kagome's face flushed in embarrassment.

She looked up at Inuyasha's face, fully prepared to tell him even though she knew he loved Kikyo, when his face suddenly went out of focus. Her vision began to blur until all she could see was bright, surreal colors.

A twinge made its way from deep in her lower abdomen all the way to her chest, stealing her breath.

"Kagome?" Inuyasha said. Her eyes had gone strangely blank, and her breathing was irregular.

Her knees buckled out from underneath her, and he barely caught her in time before she crashed into the ground. She was shaking, and drenched in a cold sweat.

Inuyasha pulled her to his chest. She could feel Inuyasha's heartbeat under her cheek, and feel his hand as he stroked the back of her head in a vain attempt to comfort her from whatever was causing her pain.

She didn't know exactly what it was, but she had a feeling what was causing it.

_Something's wrong with my baby_.

Her throat constricted even tighter as she imagined all the horrific scenarios. A miscarriage, a stillborn child, all of them ran through her head at lightning speed.

And now even modern medicine could do nothing about it because she had intentionally sealed the well.

"Kagome?"

Inuyasha's frantic voice broke through her thoughts. She realized that she could breathe normally, and there was no longer pain in her lower abdomen. She looked up, and noticed her vision was clear.

Inuyasha's golden eyes were looking directly into her own. Emotions she couldn't immediately identify shone through them.

Her voice was shaky, but she knew she had to tell someone.

"I think something's wrong with my baby. P-please take me back to Kaede-chan's village."

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Another cliffhanger! I'm evil, I know. Read and Review!


	17. Missing

I've decided to perform a massive edit of all the chapters of this story in the next day or so. However, no major details will change.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything you recognize.

Inuyasha waited impatiently outside of Kaede's hut. Somewhere between Goshinboku and the village, the younger miko had lost consciousness. Upon arriving, Kaede had shooed him out of her hut, a concerned look on her normally calm face.

This worried Inuyasha.

"How fairs Lady Kagome?" Inuyasha didn't even notice Miroku's presence. He ignored him.

"You know Inuyasha, ignoring me isn't going to make me go away. If anything, it makes it more interesting because you're obviously hiding something."

Inuyasha's face reddened in anger. "Go away, bouzo. I don't need your shit today." He turned away and returned to glare at the hut that Kagome was currently residing in.

"Tempramental today, hn?" Miroku smirked.

"Just go away." Inuyasha huffed as he threw himself down upon the ground, crossing his arms in his standard 'Inuyasha' position.

After a couple of hours of being ignored, Miroku finally got the hint. He left the brooding hanyou to himself and went to go find Sango, who had been sent on a mission by Kaede to pick herbs in Inuyasha's forest.

Inuyasha just shook his head as the monk left. He had bigger things to worry about than babysitting the members of his group. Like worrying about the member currently being examined by Kaede.

It was dark before Kaede allowed the hanyou back into the hut. Kagome was sleeping in a corner by the fire.

"I can find nothing physically wrong with the lass. I suggest strict bed rest for the duration of her pregnancy."

"Bed rest? How are we supposed to find the shards with bed rest?"

Kaede just glared at him.

"Anyway, do not wake her up. She needs the rest." Kaede shuffled towards the door. "I must be going...Aki and Mamoru are going to have a baby soon, and I must check up on them before tomorrow."

"Fine." Inuyasha leaned up against the wall, propping his sword up against the hut. A short time later the hanyou was asleep.

Kagome woke up covered in sweat.

_It's so hot in here. I'll just go sit outside for awhile_.

She stood up and tiptoed out of the hut carefully. She pushed open the shoji, relishing the cold air as it struck her fevered body. She walked out towards familiar ground, Goshinboku.

She laid down just under the sacred tree and looked up at the stars.

I _wonder what the baby will look like_.

It is true, she had her doubts about the baby in the past. After all, considering how the baby was conceived, it was only to be expected. However, Kagome just couldn't find it in her heart to give the baby up in any way. In fact, she was starting to look forward to the birth of her baby.

A familiar tingle had her sitting straight up in her spot.

_Shikon Shards. Two of them. Kouga_.

She didn't even have time to stand up before Kouga arrived.

Instead of just asking her to run away with him like she expected, he hooked one hand under her knees and the other one behind her back and lifted her up. The ever-so-familiar feeling of terror washed over her as she struggled against him, but he was too strong. He used one of his hands to cup her face, forcing her to look at him. That's when she noticed it.

His eyes were completely black.

Her mind barely had time to comprehend this before he brought his hands around her small throat and choked her into unconsciousness.

00000

Inuyasha stretched his aching muscles involuntarily. He froze in mid-stretch when he noticed the conspicuously empty futon.

Kagome.

He immediately sat up, sniffing. Her scent led away from the hut and towards the Goshinboku.

He followed. Immediately after leaving the village, he noticed something strange. It smelled like a demon…and Kouga. He put more speed into his legs, willing himself to travel faster.

He made it to the Goshinboku in record time. No sign of Kagome anywhere.

All he found was a small wooden doll.

00000000


End file.
